Neiman Marcus Chocolate Chip Cookies

An urban myth is a modern folk tale, its origins unknown, its believability enhanced simply by the frequency with which it is repeated. Our signature chocolate chip cookie is the subject of one such myth. If you haven't heard the story, we won't perpetuate it here. If you have, the recipe below should serve to refute it. Copy it, print it out, pass it along to friends and family. It's a terrific recipe. And it's absolutely free.

Neiman Marcus Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1-3/4 cups flour
1-1/2 teaspoons instant espresso powder, slightly crushed
8 ounces semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:
Cream the butter with the sugars until fluffy.
Beat in the egg and the vanilla extract.
Combine the dry ingredients and beat into the butter mixture. Stir in the chocolate chips.
Drop by large spoonfuls onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes, or 10 to 12 minutes for a crispier cookie. Makes 12 to 15 large cookies.

The recipe above comes directly from the Neiman Marcus website at http://www.neimanmarcus.com

For years there has been an email hoax
circulating about their cookie recipe,
which they refer to above as a modern folk tale.
Whether it is a myth or not,
here is the story and the recipe to follow.
I have not tried the recipe above,
but the version below is very delicious.
It is a very dense cookie,
and the oatmeal and grated chocolate
instead of the espresso powder in the recipe above;
truly adds to the delight of this cookie.
For years there has been an email hoax
circulating about their cookie recipe,
which they refer to above as a modern folk tale.
Whether it is a myth or not,
here is the story and the recipe to follow.
I have not tried the recipe above,
but the version below is very delicious.
It is a very dense cookie,
and the oatmeal and grated chocolate
instead of the espresso powder in the recipe above;
truly adds to the delight of this cookie!

My daughter and I had just finished a salad at a Neiman-Marcus Cafe in Dallas and decided to have a small dessert. Because both of us are such cookie lovers, we decided to try the "Neiman-Marcus cookie." It was so excellent that I asked if they would give me the recipe and the waitress said with a small frown, "I'm afraid not but, you can buy the recipe." Well, I asked how much, and she responded, "Only two fifty, it's a great deal!" I agreed with approval, just add it to my tab I told her I looked again and I remembered I had only spent $9.95 for two salads and about $20.00 for a scarf. As I glanced at the bottom of the statement, it said, "Cookie recipe -$250.00" That was outrageous! I called Neiman's Accounting Dept. and told them the waitress said it was "two-fifty," which clearly does not mean "two hundred and fifty dollars" by any *POSSIBLE* interpretation of the phrase. Neiman-Marcus refused to budge. They would not refund my money, because according to them, "What the waitress told you is not our problem. You have already seen the recipe. We absolutely will not refund you money at this point. I explained to her the criminal statues which govern fraud in Texas. I threatened to refer them to the Better Business Bureau and the State Attorney General Office for engaging in fraud. I was basically told, "Do what you want, it doesn't matter, we're not refunding your money." I waited, thinking of how I could get even, or even try and get any of my money back. I just said, "Okay, you folks got my $250, and now I'm going to have $250.00 worth of fun." I told her that I was going to see to it that every Cookie lover in the United States with an e-mail account has a $250.00 cookie recipe from Neiman-Marcus...for free. She replied, "I wish you wouldn't do this." I said, "Well, you should have thought of that before you ripped me off," and slammed down the phone on her. So here it is!!! Please, please, please pass it on to everyone you can possibly think of. I paid $250 for this...I don't want Neiman-Marcus to *ever* get another penny off of this recipe....

Neiman Marcus Chocolate Chip Cookies
My version
Recipe may be halved, this makes a LOT of cookies!

Ingredients:
2 cups butter
4 cups flour
2 tsp. soda
2 cups sugar
5 cups blended oatmeal ***
24 oz. chocolate chips
2 cups brown sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 8 oz. Hershey Bar (grated)
4 eggs
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. vanilla
3 cups chopped nuts (your choice)

Directions:
*Measure oatmeal and blend in a blender to a fine powder.
Cream the butter and both sugars.
*Add eggs and vanilla, mix together with flour, oatmeal, salt,
baking powder, and soda.
*Add chocolate chips, Hershey Bar and nuts. Roll into balls and
place two inches apart on a cookie sheet.
* Bake for 10 minutes at 375 degrees.
Makes 112 cookies.