The famous $250 Neiman Marcus Cookie Recipe - made with ground oats, chocolate chips, grated chocolate and walnuts. | https://www.browneyedbaker.com/the-famed-neiman-marcus-cookie/
This recipe for Neiman Marcus cookies hails from the popular email chain that flooded the Internet for years. The cookies are made with ground oats, chocolate chips, grated chocolate and chopped walnuts.

The famous $250 Neiman Marcus Cookie Recipe - made with ground oats, chocolate chips, grated chocolate and walnuts. | https://www.browneyedbaker.com/the-famed-neiman-marcus-cookie/

In the event that you have never seen the email chain regarding Neiman Marcus cookies, here’s a recap:

Supposedly, a woman ordered a cookie at the Neiman Marcus cafe and loved it so much that she asked the waitress if she could have the recipe; waitress said it would cost “two fifty”. The woman assumed it was $2.50, said okay, and the waitress gave her the recipe.  When she saw her credit card bill, however, the charge was $250. She was so irate that she decided to distribute the recipe so that no one would ever pay $250 for the recipe again. The company has since debunked the rumor (and even published its own chocolate chip cookie recipe), but the recipe that accompanied that email became insanely popular.

I suspect that many of you are very familiar with this email and may have even made these cookies before. I received the email dozens of times before I actually gave the recipe a whirl. I’ve never eaten a Neiman Marcus chocolate chip cookie, but I sure do love this version!

The famous $250 Neiman Marcus Cookie Recipe - made with ground oats, chocolate chips, grated chocolate and walnuts. | https://www.browneyedbaker.com/the-famed-neiman-marcus-cookie/

The “secret ingredient” in these cookies is the oats. Not just regular ol’ oats mixed into the batter, though; what makes these Neiman Marcus cookies so special is that the oats are blended into a coarse powder and whisked together with the flour and other dry ingredients. This is absolutely brilliant – you get all of the wonderful, nutty flavor of the oats while maintaining the texture of a traditional chocolate chip cookie.

The original Neiman Marcus cookie recipe that was circulated calls for grating a Hershey’s chocolate bar; the first time that I made these, I simply replaced that line item with milk chocolate chips. Oh, I was totally missing out! I’ve since made them the correct way and those little bits and swirls of milk chocolate make these extra-special. Definitely do not swap that out! (You can, however, use finely chopped milk chocolate in place of the Hershey’s bar, if you’d like.)

The resulting cookies are chunky, hearty and feel quite substantial when picked up. The combination of semisweet and milk chocolate along with walnuts puts these over the top. The Neiman Marcus story may have turned out to be a myth, but out there somewhere is someone who needs to be thanked for this recipe!

The famous $250 Neiman Marcus Cookie Recipe - made with ground oats, chocolate chips, grated chocolate and walnuts. | https://www.browneyedbaker.com/the-famed-neiman-marcus-cookie/

One year ago: Apple, Gruyere & Sage Scones
Two years ago: Muddy Buddies (a.k.a. Puppy Chow)
Four years ago: Pumpkin Bread
Five years ago: Pancake Cupcakes with Maple-Bacon Frosting
Six years ago: Chewy, Fudgy Triple-Chocolate Brownies

Watch How to Make Neiman Marcus Cookies:

The $250 Neiman Marcus Cookie

The rumored recipe for Neiman Marcus cookies, which was passed around via email for years, and later debunked by the company. These cookies are made with ground oats, chocolate chips, grated chocolate and chopped walnuts.
4.46 (231 ratings)

Ingredients

  • cups (202.5 g) rolled oats
  • 2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) salt
  • 1 cup (227 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
  • 1 cup (220 g) light brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 12 ounces (340.2 g) semisweet chocolate chips
  • 4 ounces (113.4 g) milk chocolate, grated or finely chopped
  • cups (175.5 g) chopped walnuts

Instructions 

  • Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line three baking sheets with parchment paper.
  • Blend the oats in a food processor or blender to a fine powder. In a medium bowl, whisk together the blended oats with the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; set aside.
  • In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the butter and both sugars until light and fluffy, 3-4 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla extract. Reduce the mixer speed to low and gradually add the flour mixture, beating just until incorporated. With a rubber spatula, fold in the chocolate chips, grated chocolate and walnuts.
  • Roll the dough into 2-ounce balls (or about 2 heaping tablespoonfuls worth) and place about 2 inches apart on the baking sheets. Bake one sheet at a time until the edges are set but the center still looks undone, about 10 minutes. Cool the cookies completely on the baking sheets. The cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days (they can also be frozen for up to 2 months).

Notes

Nutritional values are based on one serving
Calories: 291kcal, Carbohydrates: 33g, Protein: 3g, Fat: 16g, Saturated Fat: 7g, Cholesterol: 27mg, Sodium: 84mg, Potassium: 163mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 20g, Vitamin A: 210IU, Vitamin C: 0.1mg, Calcium: 34mg, Iron: 1.8mg

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This recipe was originally published on September 21, 2009.