For those of you not from the Baltimore region, Berger Cookies are as recognizable in this city as are steamed crabs and crab cakes. A chewy vanilla based cookie with a mound of chocolate, similar to Mt. Kilimanjaro, perched on top reaching for the sky. For those of you from Baltimore who just went through the Berger Cookie draught due to failing health of the baker’s family member and them not having the proper licensing, not to worry they should be back on the shelves next week if not sooner.
With the lack of Berger Cookies being off the shelves reported on all the local television stations, radio, print and it became bigger than the Pope stepping down on Facebook - the cries for the Baltimore born cookie were loud and merciless. How could these people live without their Berger Cookie fix? I’m sure there was some Berger Cookie hoarding going on just like when Twinkies said they were shutting down.
Like the Boy Scout’s motto, “be prepared” we have a recipe for you so you never have to live without your Berger Cookie ever again. Executive Chef Nancy Longo of Pierpoint Restaurant has created to the best of her interpretation the Berger cookie and is willing to share it with you, BUT I have one condition!!!!!!
Chef Longo is one of five chefs statewide nominated for the Restaurant Association of Maryland’s Chef of the Year. The award represents what the chef does on the plate and out in the community. Chef Longo has been the driving force in raising dollars for the Taste of NFL for years that goes to the Maryland Food Bank. This year she raised over $24,000. You might remember my post on her purple deviled eggs she created for pre-Ravens game consumption.
Long before there was sustainability as we know it, in 1992, Longo produced a Save the Bay fundraiser with the culinary superstars of the day the likes of Alice Waters and Paul Prudhomme. Not only does she support numerous charities in the city but she helps mentor culinary students as well as running cooking classes for children. The title of Chef of the Year in Maryland would be the ideal reward for a woman who has worked arduously in this industry for too many years to count and given back so much.
So please vote for Chef Nancy Longo and feel free to continue through the ballot to vote for your favorite food truck, restaurant, new restaurant and more. VOTE HERE.
Now, if you voted for Chef Longo you can move on to her interpretation of the Berger Cookie recipe:
Chef Nancy Longo's Berger Cookies
Ingredients
Cookies:
1cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2 tsp kosher salt
3 tb vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1 egg white from 1 large egg
4 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup whole milk
Icing:
4 cups semi sweet chocolate melted
4 tablespoons butter- room temperature
1 ¾ cups heavy cream
½ cup corn syrup
Directions
Cookies:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F
2. Generously grease your baking sheet trays
3. In a mixer, cream the butter, salt and vanilla extract.
4. Mix in the granulated sugar
5. Add the eggs and egg white - mix well
6. With a whisk, mix in the all purpose flour
7. Slowly add the whole milk
8. Scoop out 2 tablespoons in a ball and flatten. Bake for 14 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool
Icing:
1. Melt chocolate
2. Add in butter and heavy cream while still warm
3. Add the corn syrup and mix until smooth
4. Allow to cool and spread 1/2 inch high or more to the top of the cookie
5. EAT.
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