Berger cookies are a Maryland thing: a cakey round bottom—like the sole of black-and-white cookie—is dipped (by hand!) into a grainy-sweet chocolate frosting, which hardens into a messy and generous layer of fudge.
You can order Berger cookies online, but—rather than risk them melting in transit—the better bet might be to make them yourself. While a homemade version might never be an exact replica, it can be close enough (in flavor, in texture, in appearance) to get the job done, and will give you the satisfaction of having crafted something by hand. Sometimes, it can be even better than the original. (You are not a traitor for thinking so.)
We've got a shortlist of regional favorites, '90s-era after-school snacks, and cult classics (It's-Its, looking at you) that we're vying to recreate, but we want to hear from you, too: Tell us the recipes you want to be able to replicate at home in the comments and we'll do our best to deliver.
In the meantime, here are the 40 DIY foods you've loved the most, inspired by your supermarket's wall of dressings and the bagel shop and the take-out menu, to get started on:
Want a recipe for mochi ice cream? For birch soda? For Honey Buns? Tell us in the comments.
Written by: Sarah Jampel
Popular on Food52
11 Comments
1) Dry roasted peanuts from Planters (& private store brands) are a guilty pleasure. I'd like to make something similar at home so I can cut down on packaging waste, save money, and customize the flavor. Commercial dry roasted peanuts have an even coating and a dry texture, perhaps the result of a flavor paste being applied and cooked to solidify (ingredients for Planters include cornstarch, gelatin, dried onion, dried garlic, yeast, and sugar). I have tried a few flavored peanut recipes that called for roasting peanuts in a mixture of oil, salt and flavorings. These were not successful because they result in an oily coating with an uneven distribution of flavor.
2) Trader Joe's salted roasted almonds have just the right amount of salt, which is superfine and homogeneously covers the almond. There is no oil or other binding agent involved (some coated almonds have egg whites) -- only almonds and salt (and perhaps water that evaporates during the coating process). Is this something that could be reproduced at home, or does it require a major industrial operation with salt-mist sprayers, hot air blowers, industrial ovens and etc.? My guess is that the roasted almonds are sprayed with a salt water solution in a warm environment, which allows the water to evaporate and leaves the superfine salt coating.
See what other Food52 readers are saying.