A Tragedy of Epic Proportion

I am not from Baltimore, MD, however, for the amount of time I have spent there in my life, I should at least be considered and honorary Baltimorean. Some of my best friends, and my best memories, are found there. For all the time I have spent, all the visits I have made over many years, it was not until this year that I was introduced to the finest culinary masterpiece the Baltimore area has to offer. No silly, not the Phillips' crabcake. The BERGER COOKIE. Holy cow, this is a cookie! It's more than a cookie, it's a fudge covered piece of love. And this is coming from someone who doesn't even like sweets! I don't know what it is about them, but they are out of this world. My daughter tried them and will now kill (or at least maim) you for a box. So....what's the tragedy, you may ask?

PRODUCTION HAS HALTED ON BERGER COOKIES. THE PLANT HAS BEEN SHUT DOWN.

Oy vey! Ok, I know, you probably see those words and think that there was some dirty mess or bugs or foodborne illness or something. Nope. Seems an anonymous tipster (lemme at him) got inspectors there, and they found out that for some reason, they were operating without a license. There were no violations, they just didn't have a license, and nobody knew why, or for how long. You see, it's a small, family operated and owned company. A sole proprietorship, actually. And the sole proprietor happens to be ill right now, so can't even get the paperwork done. I have faith (as does most of Balto) that this will be resolved soon. Baltimore hasn't been without a Berger Cookie since 1835! It's a pretty good story. Henry Berger immigrated from Germany in 1835 and opened a bakery. He had three sons, one of whom took over the bakery, while the other two opened a shop of their own. Around the turn of the century, the brothers combined bakeries. Two of the brothers died, and when the last one decided it was time to retire, he sold the bakery to one of his trusted employees. The bakery continued to thrive, as it was passed down to the next generation. Two of their employees branched out and opened a bakery, and eventually bought Bergers. The company is still run by this family, the DeBaufres.

Enough history. Let's look at these puppies. They are just a big fat cookie, hand dipped in fudgy icing. A LOT of fudgy icing. They are completely worth the 20g of sugar, the 4.5g of fat, the 140 calories. The ingredients are all natural, no preservatives.
Ok, I have finished waxing poetic about a cookie. Let's hope they come back soon. I will be rolling down I-95 to pick some up when that happens. In the meantime, my Baltimore friends, please keep me posted on the goings on. I wish I could send you a Tastykake to fill the void, but I know it's just not the same.
Be strong, my friends....