The Legendary Neiman Marcus Cookie Recipe - Happy Holidays Edition

JULIE CLARK Posted: 6/20/2022    Updated: 6/30/2022 on tastesoflizzyt.com 

What are Neiman Marcus Cookies?

When I was in college, my sister and her husband had an apartment in the same town. I remember going to her house a few times to make chocolate chip cookies. My grandma had given me a recipe - the famous $250 Neiman Marcus cookie recipe, so that was the one I always made.

If you’ve never tried the Neiman Marcus Chocolate Chip Cookies, I think you’re going to love them. There're soft, sweet and are loaded with chocolate and walnuts.

There are numerous versions of the infamous Neiman Marcus Cookie urban legend from the 1990’s, but the basic story is that a woman visited the café in Dallas and after dinner had a delicious chocolate chip cookie. She asked for the recipe, the employee declined, so she offered to pay for the recipe.

The employee said it would cost “two-fifty”. Instead of $2.50, it was actually $250 as she found out on her credit card bill, making it the most expensive chocolate chip cookie [recipe] ever. (source)

Supposedly she published the Neiman Marcus cookie recipe online out of revenge, but whatever the story is, we now have ourselves a delicious chocolate chip cookie recipe that was never actually even served in a Neiman Marcus café. However, Neiman Marcus has helped to debunk this myth and published the recipe on their site. The recipe they publish is slightly different from the one my Grandma gave me years ago, but I wanted to share the version of the one I know and love.

Key Ingredients

All of the ingredients are listed in the recipe card below, but here are a few key ingredients to remember:

• Dark brown sugar. Dark brown sugar has a higher moisture content than light brown sugar, so it makes the cookies have a rich flavor and chewy texture. You can use light brown if that’s all you have, but I recommend dark brown.

• Oats. Since you’re going to grind the oats into powder anyway, you can use either quick oats or old fashioned oats.

• Chocolate chips. My favorite chocolate chips are Ghirardelli, but I’ve been known to use any I can get my hands on. Use semisweet chocolate chips since you’ll have the Hershey bar as well.

• Hershey bar. Shaved chocolate in cookies is one of my favorite things. It really infuses the cookie with pockets of melted chocolate in every bite. The milk chocolate of this bar will pair well with the semisweet chocolate chips.

Tips for Making Neiman Marcus Chocolate Chip Cookies

• Use an electric mixer to mix the cookies. This will ensure all of the ingredients get mixed well so that they bake evenly. Just be careful not to over-mix.

• Don’t just dump everything into the bowl. Mix the ingredients in the order that the recipe suggests and mix wet and dry ingredients separately. This will ensure the best texture of the cookie.

• Add some extra chocolate chips to the top of the cookie dough balls. This will make your cookies look pretty.

• Line your cookie sheets with parchment paper or nonstick silicone baking mats.

• Scoop the cookie dough balls as evenly as possible.

• There’s no need to refrigerate this cookie dough and in fact, we recommend NOT refrigerating it. Just mix and bake.

• Don’t over bake the cookies if you want them to be soft and chewy.

Recipe Variations

• Use chocolate chunks in place of the chocolate chips for more of a chocolate punch.

• Replace the chocolate with white chocolate chips, then add pecans and cranberries.

• Drizzle melted chocolate over the top for an extra special touch.

• Add caramel bits.

Storage Instructions

Store the cookies at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Then freeze any leftovers.

The cookies freeze well. Double wrap them, first in plastic wrap, then in foil or another airtight container. When you are ready to thaw the frozen cookies, allow them to come to room temperature before opening the package to keep them soft.

Neiman Marcus Chocolate Chip Cookies 4.66 from 94 votes

The famous cookie recipe everyone loves - these chocolate chip cookies are loaded with oatmeal and walnuts.

Servings: 36  *  Prep Time: 10 mins  *   Cook Time: 10 mins  

Ingredients

• 1 cup salted butter at room temperature. 8 ounces

• 1 cup packed dark brown sugar 200 grams

• 1 cup granulated sugar 200 grams

• 2 large eggs

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 4 grams

• 2 ½ cups old fashioned oats 240 grams

• 2 cups all-purpose flour 260 grams

• ½ teaspoon salt 4 grams

• 1 teaspoon baking soda 4 grams

• 1 teaspoon baking powder 3 grams

• 12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips

• 4 ounce milk chocolate Hershey bar

• 1 ½ cups chopped walnuts 150 grams

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 375ºF. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. Using a hand mixer or stand mixer, cream together butter and sugars in a large bowl.

3. Mix in eggs and vanilla, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed. Set aside.

4. Grind the oats (either old fashioned or quick oats will work since you are grinding them) in a blender or food processor until they are powdery.

5. Combine the ground oats, flour, salt, baking powder and soda in a medium bowl.

6. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Beat just until combined, but don't over mix.

7. Using a sharp knife on a cutting board, chop or grate the Hershey bar.

8. Add the chocolate shavings, chocolate chips and nuts to the batter. Mix to combine but do not over mix.

9. Using a cookie scoop, scoop the cookie dough onto the prepared baking sheets. Cookies should be at least 2 inches apart.

10. Press extra chocolate chips and a few nut pieces into the tops of the cookies to make them look pretty if you'd like.

11. Bake for 10 minutes. You can use a round cookie cutter or a mason jar ring to swirl the cookies inside while they are still hot to get them perfectly round. This also thickens them, although these cookies are already pretty thick.

12. Allow the cookies to cool on the pan for 5 minutes, then move to a wire rack to cool completely.

13. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. The cookies freeze well, too.

Nutrition: Calories: 235kcal (1 cookie is a serving) | Carbohydrates: 30g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 26mg | Sodium: 119mg | Potassium: 74mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 19g | Vitamin A: 195IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 39mg | Iron: 1mg

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