Berger’s Bakery

We stopped by here after we left Faidley’s because there was a line & everything in the case looked scrumptious! We ordered the strawberry shortcake, Boston cream cake, red velvet cake, and a yellow cupcake w/​chocolate frosting. The strawberry shortcake was DELICIOUS, as was the cupcake! I didn’t taste the Boston cream cake but my son and husband thoroughly enjoyed it! I asked the young woman behind the counter if the frosting on the red velvet cake was made w/​real cream cheese and she told me it was. Well, it was NOT! I make a good homemade red velvet cake and anyone who eats red velvet cake knows you have to make the frosting with cream cheese! Otherwise, don’t bother making it! And it was a little dry where the other cakes were moist and yummy! So enjoy the cakes listed except the red velvet cake! The serving sizes are HUGE and the prices VERY reasonable. I paid $ 9.70 for all of the above when it would have cost twice that in Atlanta! Cake slices are usually around $ 5.50 in Atlanta but these are cake hunks! Very good & worth the money!

Berger’s was one of two requisite stops I had to make at Lexington Market – the other being Faidley’s seafood. Of course, I went to Berger’s to try their famous cookies. These cookies are sold by the pound, and I asked how much a quarter pound is. The woman waiting on me told me it’s «like three cookies,» and tried to talk me into getting a pound. While I should have just gone with a quarter pound, I let myself be upsold to a half pound ($ 2.50) with the logic that these were unique cookies and I could eat them on subsequent days.
As others have mentioned, the cookie consists of a vanilla wafer with a thick fudge icing. It’s similar to a black and white cookie in flavor. Because both the cookie and the icing are soft, it didn’t have enough differentiation in texture for my liking. As such, I found it to be okay, but nothing worth going out of my way for in the future. While I’m not sure about Baltimore, many superior cookies can be found in Philly’s Reading Terminal Market alone.
In case you’re not familiar with Lexington Market, please be forewarned that it’s located in a dodgy section of Baltimore and that the market itself is kind of sketchy. If you’re not heading to Lexington Market for anything else, I personally don’t feel that this cookie is worth going out of your way for. However, if you happen to be there, I’d say the cookie is worth a try due to its uniqueness and longevity.

There snickerdoodles and butter crunch cookies are the best. I have to be honest, I’m a cookie snob so I’ve not tasted any of their other items, because I am addicted to these two on their menu… I always send out of town family and friends there… or take them there myself.

DONUTS ARE THE BOMB. I am not a huge fan of the cookies to be honest, but the donuts are fantastic.

Stopped by Lexington Market for the famous Berger Cookies! It’s a very old establishment and the cookies don’t look the most appetizing, but I trust that Baltimore knows their cookies and bought a couple packaged chocolate dipped cookies (2 boxes for a total of 11.99). They sell donuts, pastries, cakes, and an assortment of cookies. There was a lot of hustle bustle around the run-​down shop so I trust that the baked goods taste a lot better than they look.
The cookies also make great souvenirs so grab a few before you leave the city!

Okay Berger’s cookies, great cakes, mediocre customer service.
It was a rainy Saturday afternoon, so the entire Lexington Market was less crowded than usual. At Berger’s Bakery, though, there were about 10 – 15 customers trying to get helped. I was being courteous and started standing behind what looked like the end of a line, waiting to get helped, only to find that two customers who arrived later than I (and stood behind me) got helped before I did because they yelled out their orders when one of the staff members became available. Okay, guess I will have to be aggressive to get what I want. When it was my turn, being a cake person, I got a slice each of the carrot cake, and butter pound cake; also got ¼ lbs of their well-​known Berger’s cookies.
I would like to echo some of the previous reviews — their signature cookies are so-​so, not that impressive. The chocolate icing took up about ½ of the entire thing and tasted like store-​bought factory-​made icing. The cookie was frankly quite bland, a little pillowy and crumbly.
Their cake slices were quite good though. The carrot cake itself was moist, substantial, full of spices and texture. The icing on top tasted home-​made, just sweet and smooth enough to compliment the cake. The butter pound cake was also moist, fluffy, delicately sweet like a homemade pound cake.
I will be back for their cakes and maybe their cookies other than the Berger’s cookies.

I’m a Baltimore native. I find Lexington Market a depressing place to visit because it’s full of people who are struggling to make it in life. My mom occasionally drags me with her during the holidays to get the fresh meat, fish and produce for which the market is famous. I can’t leave without a trip to Berger’s for their one of a kind Berger cookies and their decadent and delicious array of baked goods. It takes me forever to make a choice of what to buy because I want to buy it all. It’s all so darn good!

Very disappointing re-​visit.
As a long-​standing cookie connoisseur, Berger cookies were among my favorites.
Expensive, yes, but worth the price.
Four years later, they’re still expensive.
Unfortunately, they’re no longer fresh nor very tasty.
Combined with rude counter staff, this is another Lexington stall best avoided.

If you’ve lived in Baltimore for a good period of time, you’d probably have found out that the unofficial official cookie of Baltimore is the Berger Cookie. Despite its fame and popularity, it’s very easy to miss its home – Berger’s Bakery – while walking through the bustling stalls of Lexington Market. It’s very nondescript; no bold, flashy signs, no fancy décor, etc… it’s just a normal stall in Lexington Market, happily making its home amongst the soul food and Chinese vendors nearby.
But it is here where you can buy those famed Berger Cookies. Yes, you could buy Berger Cookies all prettied up in neat packages at your local supermarket. but where’s the fun in that? Come to the Lexington Market location and you can get not only your taste of Berger Cookies, but also a taste of Baltimore as well! It’s like two for one! :P
I went recently on a Friday afternoon. The market was busy as usual and Berger’s Bakery was no exception. There isn’t a coherent line so you kind of have to just push yourself to get seen and heard by the employees there. They’re prompt but don’t have much patience for dawdling and indecision (after all, there’s other people who need to be served behind you too!).
I ordered a ¼ pound of Berger cookies. They have packaged ones as well, but it felt more fun getting the cookies by the pound from the counter. It was fairly cheap as well (don’t exactly remember the price but I believe it was under $ 2 for the ¼ pound of cookies). That ¼ pound equaled three cookies. Doesn’t sound like much, but there are very dense, heavy, and rich cookies – I’m not sure you’d want to have more than one or two at a time. This ain’t no health food. At any rate, it’d be a good idea to find a nearby vendor selling milk (don’t think Berger’s does).
Overall, it’s not somewhere I’d drive or walk out of my way for but it’s worth visiting if you’re in Lexington Market since Berger Cookies are a Baltimore specialty. The crowd at Lexington can be intimidating if you aren’t used to Baltimore but you needn’t worry too much; keep to yourself and be street-​smart and you’d be good.

I’m wondering if it’s just me.
In the center of Lexington Market lies the famous Berger’s Bakery, whose treats are well known throughout Baltimore. However, I’m just not a big fan of their cookies and donuts. The goods were reasonably priced, but for some reason, I don’t think there’s anything special about them. I feel like any specialty store can produce them and the fudge is just a little much.

Mmmm, Bergers. Of all the vendors at Lexington Market, this was one of the busiest and I heard they had some of the best treats. I grabbed up half a dozen of the famous Berger cookies and a slice of cake. Berger Cookies are a kind of cookie made and distributed by DeBaufre Bakeries. They are topped with a thick layer of chocolate fudge that derives from a German recipe, and are a cultural icon of Baltimore. The recipe has won several awards around the Baltimore area including the 2011 «Best of Baltimore Award» and the «Best Cookie» award in 2011. The product has also been featured in The Baltimore Sun, The View, and on Rachael Ray and The Best Thing I Ever Ate on the Food Network. Berger Cookies are handmade in a small factory in the Cherry Hill neighborhood of Baltimore. As of early 2012, the annual sales of DeBaufre Bakeries were about $ 2.5 million, with Berger Cookies making up 98% of that. Other than sales on its website, the company sells Berger Cookies only in the Baltimore and Washington D.C. areas.
I also got a slice of white/​yellow cake with strawberry. I ended up eating it a few days later. It was very moist, and it was good, but it was also interesting. It was TOO sweet and had kind of a tang to it. I’d probably have it once in a while but it was really overwhelming. I did love the texture though and that sweet, sweet strawberry frosting.
Just a note, if you’re not from the area, make sure to research Lexington Market so you have a good idea of what you’re getting into. This is downtown and not the safest or cleanest area. No one really bothered me, but I saw my share of cracked out people and felt uncomfortable a few times.

Deeeeelicious! I was visiting Baltimore, and just had to come try this place out, given it’s reputation. I ordered a couple chocolate drop cookies, as well as a few lace cookies. The chocolate drop cookies are shortbread/​cake-​like cookies with what looks to be a «drop’ of chocolate icing on top… and by drop I mean at least 2 tbsps lol. They were so sweet and decadent. The chocolate frosting was scrumptious without being overpowering. I was upset that I only ordered two and didn’t taste it until AFTER I had already left & paid the parking fee. :-(The lace cookies had a taste that I still can’t quite place.(almond or coffee extract was used, maybe?) It was a crunchy cookie that appeared well, lacy, and was drizzled with chocolate. I wouldn’t order those again, but they didn’t taste bad. The chocolate drops however, I could eat everyday!.. but I won’t, considering that my waistline would be none too happy about it lol. Berger’s is tasty and inexpensive! Win!

I am really surprised at how much I loved these! I had heard all the hype from my students and I figured I would have one, but it wasn’t on my list. After walking through Lexington Market, I spotted them for sale by the pound and we got ½ lb to share among 4 people. I think we each had about 1 – 2 cookies (7 total?) and it was the perfect dessert after splitting a crabcake. The fudge was creamy and the cookie was both soft and slightly crumbly. What a treat.

Must spend $ 5 if using a credit card FYI! Other than that, I’m sold. My fav glazed doughnuts since Louise’s Bakery in Woodlawn closed years ago (throwback). The infamous Berger cookie? Not my steez, nevertheless, I’ve had them and if chocolate upon chocolate is for you, be my guest ;-)

This place was completely hopping when I stopped by the market. I hear the doughnuts are the thing to get, but they were gone by the time I arrived. Sadness. I asked the woman behind the counter what the next best thing they made was. She recommended the Berger cookies. I bought two. Essentially, it was a soft sugar-​type cookie covered in a thick, thick, did I say thick?, layer of chocolate icing. The icing wasn’t even delicious. It tasted like any chocolate icing I would buy at the store.
On the positive side, they were very friendly and affordable. I’m not saying I would never go back and try something else, but what I got was disappointing.

Mmmm I had a Berger cookie for the first time yesterday, and it was sooo good! It is a TON of chocolate fudge though, so I wiped half of it off and drank an entire glass of milk for one cookie. Great as an occasional treat. I wonder how the new rule about no trans fats will affect these cookies.

Everyone’s heard of a black and white cookie but how many have heard of a Berger cookie? Berger Cookies are a cultural icon in Baltimore and they are sold at DeBaufre Bakeries throughout the Baltimore and Washington D.C. area. Like the black and white cookie, the recipe for Berger cookies came from Germany. The cookie is a dense, vanilla flavored cake-​like wafer that is similar to a shortbread but not as rich. The wafer is topped with a thick layer of sugary chocolate fudge.
I finally decided to see what all the hype was about and dropped by the DeBaufre location at Lexington Market. Although the market was not very crowded that day, there were quite a few people clustered around the bakery stand– most of them were obviously locals! They have pre-​packaged options that are perfect for gift-​giving and they also sell the cookies by the pound. The by-​the-​pound price was cheaper and perfect for me since I wanted to try one before committing to an entire box!
I hate to say it but Berger cookies are not for me. The cookie itself is very similar to the black and white cookie but a little denser and more cake-​like. The chocolate fudge topping was way too sweet and totally overpowered cookie.
To be fair, I don’t have much of a sweet tooth and I am the type of gal who scrapes off half the icing before eating a cupcake. The cookie itself tasted very fresh and was nice and moist. I just couldn’t take the artificially sweet layer of fudge. It was good to try but probably wouldn’t get it again.

(08/​03/​2012) A Berger cookie is a Baltimore classic you just can’t miss, along with a visit to the Lexington Market, an O’s game at Camden Yards, and a Boh by the water with some steamed crabs. A Berger cookie is a dense, cakey, vanilla (think soft, thick, ‘Nilla wafer), cookie-​base that is merely a vehicle for a half-​inch thick dollop of sugary chocolate fudge frosting. The cookie-​base itself is not too sweet, but the fudge will make your teeth ache and your dentist cringe. The baked goods are reasonably priced; can also order online and have shipped to anywhere you want to recieve a little dose of Charm City.

I’m pretty critical of cookies. As I make my slow descent into the world of diabetes, I intend to make each cookie count. I do not waste my time with crappy cookies.
The famous Berger cookie is just good enough that I am proud to have it help me towards my future insulin-​shot-​dependent lifestyle. It is a thick, sugary attack and if you don’t have milk when you eat it then you are making a huge mistake.

Dense and Rich are two words that can be used to describe the famous Baltimore Berger Cookie.
It’s quite similar to a Black & White cookie. The cookie part is a bit more dense and chewier. Instead of royal icing, it’s a super fudge-​y frosting/​topping that coats the top. I think for a ½ lb it was around $ 2.15-ish (less than $ 2.50 for sure).
Really need a nice glass of milk to cut the rich sweetness of the frosting.
Also have pies (sold in half a pie and whole pies), other types of cookies (by the lb), muffins, and cake (by the slice [already wrapped] or whole).
Bought a slice of red velvet. While the cake part wasn’t too bad, it’s a shame they do not use a cream cheese frosting. In my opinion, the combination of the touch of cocoa powder in the cake with cream cheese frosting is what makes a red velvet cake.
Prompt service.