Berger Cookies

My copycat Berger cookies will win the heart of any Baltimorean! It took years to perfect this beloved recipe, right down to that incredible chocolate fudge topping.

Recipe includes a how-to video!

Course cookie, Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 25

Total Time 45

Servings cookies

Calories 228kcal

Author Sam Merritt

Equipment

Ingredients

Cookies

½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter softened
¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar
1 large egg room temperature preferred
1 Tablespoon milk
½ teaspoon imitation vanilla extract
1 ⅔ cups (190 g) cake flour
¾ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt

Frosting

1 cup (226 g) salted butter softened
6 tablespoons (88 ml) light corn syrup
5 cups (625 g) powdered sugar
⅔ cup (67 g) natural cocoa powder
2 Tablespoons (13 g) Dutch-process cocoa powder
2 Tablespoons heavy cream
2 teaspoons imitation vanilla extract

Instructions

Cookies

Preheat oven to 350F (175C) and line baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
Combine butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl and use an electric mixer to beat until light and fluffy and well-combined.
½ cup unsalted butter, ¾ cup granulated sugar
Add egg, milk, and vanilla extract and stir together until completely combined. Set aside.
1 large egg, 1 Tablespoon milk, ½ teaspoon imitation vanilla extract
In a separate, medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
1 ⅔ cups cake flour, ¾ teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon salt
Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet, stirring until completely combined.
Scoop dough by level 1 Tablespoon-sized scoop and drop onto baking sheet, spacing cookies at least 2” (5cm) apart.
Lightly dampen your fingertips and gently flatten each cookie.
Transfer to center rack of 350F (175C) preheated oven and bake 10-12 minutes, until the very edges of the cookies are beginning to turn a light golden brown. Allow cookies to cool while you prepare the frosting.

Frosting

Combine butter and corn syrup in a large mixing bowl and use an electric mixer to beat until creamy and well-combined.
1 cup salted butter, 6 tablespoons light corn syrup
Gradually add powdered sugar, about 1 cup/125g at a time, stirring after each addition until completely combined.
5 cups powdered sugar
Add both cocoa powders and stir until well-combined.
⅔ cup natural cocoa powder, 2 Tablespoons Dutch-process cocoa powder
While stirring on low-speed, drizzle in heavy cream and vanilla extract, stirring until frosting is completely combined and smooth.
2 Tablespoons heavy cream, 2 teaspoons imitation vanilla extract
Prepare a double boiler by filling a medium-sized saucepan with 1-2” of water and fit a medium-sized heatproof bowl onto the pot so that it rests on it without touching the water. Bring water to a simmer, and transfer your frosting to the bowl. Once water is simmering, place the bowl on top of the pot and heat frosting, stirring frequently, until it is melted, darkened in color, smooth, and easy to spread.
Flip cooled cookies over (you’ll be frosting the flat bottoms of the cookies) and scoop 1 ½ Tablespoons of frosting over each cookie. Use the back of a spoon or an offset spatula to nudge the frosting so it spills over the edges.
Allow frosting to cool and firm before enjoying!

Video

Notes

Unsalted AND Salted butter (why both)

Both because it simply works best during testing and yielded the best flavor. In this case, though, you can substitute.

If you only have salted butter: Reduce the salt in the cookie portion to just ¼ teaspoon.

If you only have unsalted butter: Add ½ teaspoon of salt to the icing (just stir it in after the cocoa).

Vanilla extract

Berger cookies have a distinctly artificial taste to them and the best way to emulate this is to use imitation vanilla extract. Of course you can use regular vanilla extract if you prefer, the cookies will just not taste as much like Berger cookies as they should.

Cake flour

Cake flour is STRONGLY recommended for the closest imitation of the classic Berger cookie crumb. All-purpose flour just doesn’t work the same here!

Storing

Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.

Nutrition