History
The Berger Cookie recipe was brought to America from Germany by George and Henry Berger in 1835. Henry owned a bakery in East Baltimore which was later run by his son Henry. While the younger Henry took over his father's bakery, his two brothers, George and Otto, opened their own bakeries. Around 1900 Otto died, then George and Henry combined the bakeries to create 'Bergers'. As technology grew so did the bakery. Eventually Henry died, leaving George as the sole proprietor of the bakery.
When George retired he sold the bakery and the recipe to Charles E. Russell. Charles' son, Charles Jr., took control upon his father's retirement. Charles Jr. and his sons, Charles III and Dennis, ran the business through the Depression. They employed two brothers, Charles and Benjamin DeBaufre. When Charles Jr. retired, he left the bakery to Charles III and Dennis. Meanwhile the DeBaufre brothers left the business to start DeBaufre Bakeries Inc.
The Berger cookie is well-known for its thick chocolate frosting layered on top of a shortbread cookie. 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 Rachel Ray and The Best Thing I Ever Ate on the Food Network.
DeBaufre Bakeries was able to earn enough of a profit to purchase Berger's from the Russell family in 1969. Charles' son, Charles DeBaufre Jr., purchased part of the business in 1978. Charles Sr. died in 1988 leaving ownership to Benjamin, Charles Jr., and John Koehler. Charles Jr. became the sole proprietor of Berger Cookies in 1994 when Benjamin retired.
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