I have no idea if the story behind the $250 Neiman Marcus Cookies is true or not, but here’s what is true – these are pretty damn delicious. Along with that they’re textured the way I prefer my cookies with a crispy edge and chewy center. As for the flavor, it’s all there too – chocolatey, nutty and made sweet and salty (my tweak) with some roasted salted almonds.
Neiman Marcus Chocolate Chip Cookies
If you are a long time reader than you know this is my favorite chocolate chip cookie. These Neiman Marcus Cookies are a second place favorite.
What sets this chocolate chip cookie apart from other recipe is the processed oatmeal. It gives the cookie a nutty earthy flavor and helps to bring down the sweetness. Along with adding flavor the oatmeal also gives the cookie a nice crisp finish.
Now I only have one more famous chocolate chip cookie recipe to try. Any guesses?
Neiman Marcus Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 5 cups oatmeal
- 4 cups flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 cups butter
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 cups packed brown sugar
- 24 ounces chocolate chips
- 4 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 (8 ounce) Hershey bars, finely chopped
- 3 cups chopped roasted salted almonds
Instructions
Preparation
Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Line bake sheet with parchment paper.
- Place oatmeal in a food process and process until coarsely cut. Add in flour and pulse until blended. Add baking soda and baking powder and pulse until well blended. Set aside.
- Cream butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar in stand mixer bowl fitted with a paddle attachment. Add in eggs one at time beating until just combined after each addition. Add in vanilla and salt and beat until combined.
- Turn mixer speed down to low and add in dry flour and oatmeal mixture. Mix until combined. Add in Hershey chocolates pieces and nuts and mix until combined.
- Using a cookies scoop drop inch balls onto parchment lined bake sheets. Alternately roll dough into 1 inch balls and place on parchment lined bake sheet. Bake for 10 minutes at 375° or until golden. Remove cookies from bake sheet let cool on a wire rack.
Notes
A few notes:
- Bake your cookies to 8 minutes rather than 10 for a chewy cookie all around.
- If you prefer you can leave the oatmeal as is without processing it in a blender or food processor. Keep in mind if you do, that will change the flavor and texture of the cookie.
- Successful variations I've tried (replace the nut portion for the following): chocolate covered pretzels, Pretzel M&Ms, potato chips (if you haven't tried this in cookies you might be surprised at how good it is)-all sweet and salty combinations. For a fruity flavoring try dried cranberries, raisins or chopped up dried apricots.
Whoa! That’s a lot of $$$ in a cookie. Is it true ;P? I should have walked into Neiman Marcus last year, now I guess I missed that chance. I adore salted nuts in cookies. And I’m with no the crunchy on the edges, chewy in the center. Makes dipping them in milk heavenly too. Can’t wait to bake up a batch of these. Cheers~
This story is an urban legend.
Cindi
these look amazing. Beautiful pictures as always.
Love the salted almond addition to these! Ever try toasting your oatmeal first? It adds even more flavor!
I just made the NYT recipe last week and it was good, really good – but now I want to try this one. I’ve read that the story is an urban myth but I prefer to believe it 🙂 I like the story! ha! And I like the sounds of the cookies. But like you, very little can trump my beloved C.I. cookie recipe.
This is a gem of a recipe! I have a version of the NM cookie and mine has espresso powder in it. It was the first recipe I’d seen with it and now I’m convinced it’s the key! I like your adaptation, though! 🙂
These are the cookies that I grew up on. My mom very rarely turned on the oven, but if she did it was to make a batch of Neiman Marcus cookies!
These sound fabulous! And they make SO MANY! Heaven.
These look amazing! So yummy. And I am beautiful photography as always!
Carlee
Almost Endearing
I’m always looking for the perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe as I still haven’t found one to my liking. I’m going to try this one out for sure! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
These look great. I’m going to have to try this recipe out for myself! Thanks for sharing.
Your pictures are always so gorgeous! What kind of flour did you use? Ever since I pledged my undying cookie love to the NYT Jacque Torres recipe, I’m a firm believer that bread flour should always make an appearance in cookies. But I was just thinking about this Neiman Marcus recipe the other day and that email FWD from the 90’s and wished I’d of save it. Thanks for resurrecting it!
I love your variation of using pretzel m and m’s, now I’ll be craving cookies all day!
Always love a great chocolate chip cookie recipe. Now I have a few to switch back and forth with. That second pic is gorgeous Naomi! That negative space.
I love these cookies, but haven’t made them in a long time! thanks for the reminder!
Thanks Mike!That’s the one I like better too. 🙂
Hi Naomi! My favorite CCC recipe is the CI recipe too. You just cannot go wrong with it! But these cookies… I am blown away. I prefer to believe the myth as well. 🙂 I’m excited to make the NY Times CCC recipe this holiday season!
I’m not totally sure what happened with the story of these cookies either but I do know that the real, authentic NM cookies don’t call for oatmeal. Instead, they call for espresso powder. However, this oatmeal recipe seems to work just fine and I’ve seen it on a ton of other blogs so who cares if it’s true 😉
I made these cookies last night to take to friends affected by Hurricane Sandy and even though I cut the recipe in half, I still had a ton of cookies to deliver! I didn’t have Hershey bars or nuts so I added more chocolate chips and kept the amount of salt the same despite cutting the rest of the ingredient amounts in half. Delicious!
I’m making these right now! Can’t wait to bite into one!
Im back again, these cookies were so good and addicting!! This time i divided the dough in half and added a dark chocolate swirl to one half with chocolate chips and to the other half i crushed 5th ave bars into the dough with chocolate chips. I am currently almost 5 months pregnant so i am so looking forward to these again lol . oh so is my hubby and neighbors! haha!
The story behind this (that a lady was led to believe the recipe for the cookie she just ate at an NM restaurant was “two fifty” only to realize later on her bill that it was $250) has been around for a few decades. It really took off in the mid nineties with the Internet. This recipe was often included in the emails and message boards from that time on. The version with espresso powder is the “official” NM chocolate chip cookie recipe and has been available for free on their website since the mid 90s. It was created by Kevin Garvin, head of the restaurants, back around 1995 or so. Ironically, the recipe is available for “purchase” if you buy the NM cookbook that was published about 10 years ago.
So glad to see this recipe.The first time for me to make these cookies, in the late
70s it called for walnuts, everything else was the same. The recipe was in Family
Circle and the story along with it. I don’t think it’s a myth. She had the recipe
Published in several magazines. I have made the cookies for over 30 years
and every year they are better, I am anxious to try the almonds, maybe even
the pretzels too.
Hey, I Soo want to make this recipe, but can I just ask if the oatmeal is rolled oats or quick cooking oats??
Can I cut this recipe in half ? I would love to make all these cookies I just dont have the time!