Peanut butter cookies and "Neiman Marcus" cookies

For the mid-week snack for Patient Appreciation week, I made 280 cookies, peanut butter and chocolate chocolate chip. The chocolate chip cookies come with a story. I have since found out it isn't true, but I've been making the cookies for 10 years with the assumption it was true. Honestly it doesn't matter because they are awesome! The peanut butter cookies are super simple and very tasty. The chocolate chip cookies are worth every minute in the kitchen.

sidenote: Thanks Tiff for putting on the stickers before we left for the beach.

The Neiman-Marcus Cookie Story
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 went to the Neiman Marcus website and this is what they had to say about it.

NM Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe***

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.

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

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.

***I personally have not this recipe.

OK, enough about the origin of the cookie recipe - here is the recipe I use. It is absolutely one of my favorite cookies, and my stepmother loves them also. I do recommend a heavy duty mixer to make these or mix them by hand in the later stages of the process.

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies
5 C old fashioned rolled oats
8 oz semi-sweet chocolate
1 lb (4 sticks) butter, softened
2 C sugar
2 C light brown sugar
4 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla
4 C all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
24 oz chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375. Line 4 cookie sheets with parchment paper. (You have to use parchment paper!!)

In a food processor, grind oats into a fine powder. Coarsely chop chocolate and grind with oats. The finer the powder, the better the cookies.

Cream the butter and sugars together. Add eggs and vanilla; mix well. In another bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Then gradually beat flour mixture into the butter mixture.

Use a HEAVY DUTY MIXER or hands-- add oats mixture and beat it in. Use hands to work chocolate chips in the dough.

Make balls of dough about twice the size of golf balls - 12 per sheet (I use professional baking sheets and they are bigger than the average baking sheet. So use your judgment when putting these on the sheets because you don't want them to touch when they start spreading out.)

Bake one sheet at a time. Bake 11-12 mins reversing the sheet half-way through baking. The cookies will not appear done, but take them out! (Surface will be covered with cracks.)

Let the cookies cool on the sheet rather than racks. If you transfer when hot, they will drip through the racks.

Store in plastic bags or air-tight container.

yields 48 huge cookies.


Peanut Butter Cookies
1 C all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
1/2 C butter
3/4 C light brown sugar, firmly packed
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 C peanut butter, creamy or crunchy

Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt and set aside.

With an electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

In another bowl, mix the egg and vanilla extract, then gradually beat into the butter mixture.

Stir in the peanut butter and blend thoroughly. Stir in the dry ingredients. Chill for at least 30 minutes, until firm.

Preheat the oven to 350. Grease two baking sheets.

Spoon out rounded teaspoonfuls of the dough and roll into balls.

Place the balls the prepared baking sheets and press flat with a fork into circles about 2 1/2" in diameter, making criss-cross pattern with a fork. (you may need to chill your fork or spray it with Pam)

Bake for 12 -14 minutes, until lightly colored. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.