Neiman Marcus cookie recipe

You, probably, got already this story in your mailbox more than once, but let’s repeat it again for those, who somehow missed it in the filtered trash messages folder.

Original Story

Okay, everyone....a true story of justice in the good old U.S. of A. Thought y’all might enjoy this; if nothing else, it shows internet justice, if it can be called that.

My daughter & I had just finished a salad at Neiman-Marcus Cafe in Dallas & decided to have a small dessert. Because our family 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 they said with a small frown, "I’m afraid not." Well, I said, would you let me buy the recipe? With a cute smile, she said, "Yes." I asked how much, and she responded, "Two fifty." I said with approval, just add it to my tab.

Thirty days later, I received my VISA statement from Neiman-Marcus and it was $285.00. 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." Boy, was I upset!! I called Neiman’s Accounting Dept. and told them the waitress said it was "two fifty," and I did not realize she meant $250.00 for a cookie recipe.

I asked them to take back the recipe and reduce my bill and they said they were sorry, but because all the recipes were this expensive so not just everyone could duplicate any of our bakery recipes....the bill would stand.

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 $250.00 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 will have a $250.00 cookie recipe from Neiman-Marcus for nothing. She replied, "I wish you wouldn’t do this." I said, "I’m sorry but this is the only way I feel I could get even," and I will.

So, here it is, and please pass it to someone else or run a few copies....I paid for it; now you can have it for free.

(Recipe may be halved):
2 cups butter, 4 cups flower, 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, 3 cups chopped nuts (your choice), 2 tsp. vanilla

** 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. Have fun!!! This is not a joke --- this is a true story..

Neiman Marcus cookie recipe

True Story or Urban Myth?


There are at least two reasons, why the story should be considered as Urban Myth:

1. Prior to the emergence of the legend, the store did not have a chocolate chip cookie.
   
2. A similar story has been around since the 1940s, originally involving a red velvet cake recipe from the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. It wasn’t until the 1980s that the story’s focus shifted to cookies. The cookie version of the story originally was attached to Mrs. Fields cookies, causing that company eventually to post disavowals of the notices at all its stores.

Consequences

Although the story is untrue, Neiman Marcus nonetheless published the cookie recipe to quell rumors. It was perfected in 1995 by Kevin Garvin and is featured on the company’s website for free. It also is in the Neiman Marcus Cookbook (Clarkson Potter, $45) by Mr. Garvin and John Harrisson.

Neiman Marcus cookie recipe

Recipe

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
  
• 1 cup light brown sugar
  
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
  
• 1 large egg
  
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  
• 1-3/4 cups all purpose flour
  
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
  
• 1-1/2 teaspoons instant espresso coffee powder
  
• 1-1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
  
  Directions

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Cream the butter with the sugars using an electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy (approximately 30 seconds)
2. Beat in the egg and the vanilla extract for another 30 seconds.
3. In a mixing bowl, sift together the dry ingredients and beat into the butter mixture at low speed for about 15 seconds. Stir in the espresso coffee powder and chocolate chips.
4. Using a 1 ounce scoop or a 2 tablespoon measure, drop cookie dough onto a greased cookie sheet about 3 inches apart. Gently press down on the dough with the back of a spoon to spread out into a 2 inch circle. Bake for about 20 minutes or until nicely browned around the edges. Bake a little longer for a crispier cookie.

Yield: 2 dozen cookies

Sources and Additional Information:
http://virtual.park.uga.edu/~clandrum/example_html/urban.example.html
http://www.neimanmarcus.com/store/service/nm_cookie_recipe.jhtml
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neiman-Marcus
http://www.howstuffworks.com/urban-legend.htm/printable