Recipe: Berger Cookies - 3 versions (King Arthur Flour) and Chess Pie

I could find no recipe for the Baltimore Bomb Pie on the internet. Here are the recipes for the Berger Cookies and the Chess Pie. Good luck and please let us know how you make out. This is how copycat recipes are born!!

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BERGER COOKIES
Source: King Arthur Flour
Makes 2 dozen (3 1/2-inch) cookies

"Baltimore's storied Berger cookies, a product of that city's DeBaufre Bakeries, are a close relation to New York City's Black and Whites (a.k.a. Half and Halfs). These cake-like, jumbo-sized cookies are piled with thick, rich chocolate icing - the thicker the better, up to 1/2-inch of icing atop each 1/2-inch-thick cookie. Note that the cookies themselves are rather dry, so the over-the-top amount of icing - rather than being too much - ends up being just right."

FOR THE COOKIES:
1 cup (2 sticks, 8 ounces) unsalted butter
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 1/2 cups (10 1/2 ounces) sugar
3 large eggs
4 1/2 cups (19 ounces) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1 cup (8 ounces) milk

FOR THE RICH CHOCOLATE ICING:
3 1/2 cups (21 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
4 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate
2 tablespoons (1 3/8 ounce) light corn syrup
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick, 2 ounces) unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups (12 ounces) heavy cream

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly grease (or line with parchment) two baking sheets.

TO MAKE THE COOKIES:
In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter, salt, vanilla, and baking powder. Beat in the sugar, then the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Add the flour to the wet ingredients alternately with the milk, beginning and ending with the flour. Do this gently; there's no need to beat the batter.

Using a muffin scoop, drop the dough onto the prepared cookie sheets. Flatten each mound of dough to a circle about 1 1/2-inches across; wet your fingers or a knife, or grease the bottom of a drinking glass or measuring cup to do this. Leave 2 to 2 1⁄2-inches between each cookie, for expansion.

Bake the cookies for about 11 minutes, or until they're a mottled brown on the bottom (carefully tilt one up to look), but not colored on top. You may see the barest hint of browning around the edges, but these cookies are supposed to be soft and cake-like, so don't over-bake them. Cool the cookies on the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer them to a rack to cool completely.

TO MAKE THE ICING:
Place the chocolate chips, baking chocolate, corn syrup, butter, and cream into a large microwave-safe bowl, or into a large saucepan. Heat the mixture till it's very hot; the cream will start to form bubbles. Remove from the heat, and stir until smooth. Let cool to room temperature; this will take at least a couple of hours, so plan accordingly. When completely cool, beat with an electric mixer for 6 to 7 minutes, until the icing lightens in color just a bit, and thickens just slightly.

Spread each cookie with a generous 3 tablespoons icing (about 42g, about 1 1/2 ounces), leaving 1/4-inch bare around the outside edge of each cookie. A heaped tablespoon cookie scoop works very well here. It'll feel like you're piling on a lot of icing; that's precisely the point! Allow to set, then store airtight in a single layer.

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BERGER COOKIES - VERSION 2
Source: King Arthur Flour
Makes twenty-eight (2 1/4-inch) cookies.

"After much input from Baltimore-area readers, we've come up with this recipe, which is closer to the original. It makes a smaller cookie, with chocolate frosting that's not quite as chocolate-y, but is spread on even more thickly."

FOR THE RICH CHOCOLATE ICING:
2 cups (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 tablespoons (1 ounce) light corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup (6 ounces) heavy (whipping) cream
1 1/2 cups (6 ounces) confectioners' sugar, sifted

FOR THE COOKIES:
1/3 cup (5 1/3 tablespoons, 2 5/8 ounces) unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cups (3 1/2 ounces) sugar
1 large egg
1 1/2 cups (6 1/4 ounces) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1/3 cup (2 5/8 ounces) milk

TO MAKE THE ICING:
Place the chocolate chips, corn syrup, vanilla, and cream into a large microwave-safe bowl, or into a large saucepan. Heat the mixture till it's very hot; the cream will start to form bubbles. Remove from the heat, and stir until smooth. Beat in the confectioners' sugar. Let cool to warm room temperature while you make the cookies.

TO MAKE THE COOKIES:
In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter, salt, vanilla, and baking powder. Beat in the sugar, then the egg.

Add the flour to the wet ingredients alternately with the milk, beginning and ending with the flour. Do this gently; there's no need to beat the batter.

Using a teaspoon cookie scoop, drop the dough onto the prepared cookie sheets. Flatten each mound of dough to a circle about 1 1/2-inch across; wet your fingers or a knife, or grease the bottom of a drinking glass or measuring cup to do this. Leave 2"e; to 2 1⁄2-inches between each cookie, for expansion.

Bake the cookies for 11 to 12 minutes, or until they're a mottled brown on the bottom (carefully tilt one up to look), but not colored on top. You may see the barest hint of browning around the edges, but these cookies are supposed to be soft and cake-like, so don't over-bake them. Cool the cookies on the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer them to a rack to cool completely.

Dip the flat bottom of each cookie into the icing; swirl the cookie around to really give it a good coating. Set cookies back on the baking sheet, or on a rack. Spread remaining icing evenly atop the cookies. It'll feel like you're piling on a lot of icing; that's precisely the point! Allow to set, then store airtight in a single layer.

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BERGER COOKIES WITH CHOCOLATE FUDGE TOPPING
Source: Gala from Virginia

"I tried your recipe (above) and have eaten Berger cookies. I believe the original Berger cookie could be improved upon with a moister version of the cookie portion. I did not like the icing used in your recipe, because it was nothing like the actual Berger cookie which is topped with freshly made chocolate fudge. This is my recipe:"

1/2 cup butter (1 stick), at room temperature
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 egg
2 cups flour
1/2 cup milk

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

For this recipe do not cream the butter and sugar, just mix it to combine. Add remaining ingredients and stir to combine being careful not to over work the dough. Use a size 40 Hamilton Beach orchid handle ice cream scoop 1 1/2-inch (3.8cm) bowl diameter with a .7oz (20.7ml) bowl capacity. Drop level scoops of dough onto a parchment lined baking sheet 2 inches apart.

Bake the cookies for 12 to 15 minutes or until the edges just begin to turn golden brown. After cooled, turn the cookies upside down on the baking sheet in preparation for the addition of the topping.

CHOCOLATE FUDGE TOPPING

2 3/4 cups sugar
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate chips (60% cacao)
3 tablespoons butter, divided use plus more for greasing pan
1 cup half-and-half
1 tablespoon corn syrup
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine the sugar, chocolate, 1 1/2 tablespoons of the butter, half-and-half, and corn syrup. Over medium heat, stir with a wooden spoon until sugar is dissolved and chocolate is melted. Increase heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and boil for 3 minutes. Remove the cover and attach a candy thermometer to the pot. Cook until the thermometer reads 234 degrees F. Remove from the heat and add the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons butter. Do not stir. Let the mixture cool for 10 minutes or until it drops to 130 degrees F.

Add vanilla, and mix until well-blended and the shiny texture becomes matte. Once the fudge begins to thicken, dribble (more like plop) a layer of fudge onto the flat bottom side of each cookie. Try to ensure the fudge layer is the same thickness as the cookie. If the fudge is too thin and oozes off the cookie, give it a minute or two to thicken and try again. Work fast or the fudge will solidify before all the cookies have topping.

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Chess Pie
Board: Cooking Club at Recipelink.com
From: Sandy 1-18-1999
Msg ID:0036265
MSG URL: Chess Pie