Impress friends and family with this '$250' chocolate chip cookie recipe

I spied the recipe on the back of a newly opened bag of all purpose flour. I had to smile at the name: “Our favorite chocolate chip cookies.” I knew right away it was similar to the Neiman Marcus urban legend chocolate chip cookie recipe that has been around for decades. The unmistakable clue? The recipe contained blended oats.

For those of you not familiar with the various narratives, here’s how the folklore goes. Back in the 1990s a woman lunching at Neiman Marcus Cafe in Dallas loved the chocolate chip cookies so much that she asked for the recipe. She was told it could be sold to her for “only two-fifty.” When the woman’s credit card bill came, the recipe cost $250 – as the tale is told. So much attention was drawn by the story that Neiman Marcus developed a chocolate chip cookie recipe and gave it out free.

Again, what makes it special is the ground oatmeal which lends texture and a somewhat soft chew. There are more than a few versions of the recipe, including one with a grated milk chocolate bar. And nuts. Every bite is a yummy surprise.

I whipped up a batch for family and friends. Since I consider you, my readers, friends as well, here’s the fun recipe for you to make. It makes a lot so you can share, or freeze to eat as the holidays progress.

$250 chocolate chip cookie recipe

Ingredients

1 cup butter, room temperature

1 cup brown sugar, packed

1 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 tablespoon vanilla

2-1/2 cups raw oatmeal

2 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon each: baking powder and soda

2 to 2-1/2 cups chocolate chips – I used 1 cup dark and 1 cup milk chocolate

1-1/2 cups coarsely chopped nuts (optional) – I used walnuts

1 milk chocolate bar, 4 oz, grated (optional) – I didn’t use

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375.

Cream together butter and both sugars.

Beat in eggs and vanilla.

Finely grind oats in blender or food processor.

Whisk together oats, flour, salt, baking powder and soda.

Add slowly to butter mixture and beat just until combined.

Stir in chips, nuts and chocolate bar. Mix just to combine.

Drop by tablespoonfuls, about 2” apart, on sprayed or parchment lined cookie sheets.

Bake 10-15 minutes, until lightly browned but still a tiny bit soft. They will continue to bake a bit on the hot cookie sheets. (Mine took almost 15 minutes since I used a 1” cookie scoop.)

Yield: 45-55 cookies.

Tips:

Freeze raw dough

Roll cookies into balls. Freeze in single layer on cookie sheet, until hard.

Place into labeled freezer bags.

Bake from frozen state but count on a few minutes longer baking.

Cookies flatted out too much

Sometimes caused by puddly or melty butter. Butter should be soft, but still in form.

Cookies stay too puffed up

Dry ingredients may have been over measured.

Whisk flour a bit before scooping. Measure oats carefully.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: $250 chocolate chip cookie recipe by Rita Nader Heikenfeld