Made with ground oats, blended nuts, and 3 kinds of chocolate, Neiman Marcus Cookies are worth every penny of their legendary price tag!
The Legend Behind Neiman Marcus Cookies
Have you heard the legend about the Neiman Marcus Cookie Recipe?
The story goes that a woman at a famous department store begged for a recipe for a baked good she had eaten at their cafe, only to receive a bill in the vicinity of $250. She expressed her anger for this rather large bill by sharing the recipe with anybody and everybody.
Is the legend true? Maybe, maybe not. But after one bite of these cookies, you will believe they are worth their price.
Reasons to Love This Neiman Marcus Cookie Recipe
- Unbelievable Flavor and Texture. Made with a combination of blended oats, blended nuts, and more chocolate than should be legal, these Neiman Marcus Cookies are soft, yet a bit chewy, and every bite oozes with chocolate. And the walnuts give the cookies an earthy, nutty taste, yet are blended to keep the cookie soft. They are absolutely perfect.
- Crowd-Pleasing Cookie Recipe. Neiman Marcus Cookies are my all-time favorite cookie recipe and everyone I serve them to, LOVES them!
- Holiday Worthy. While these cookies deserve to be enjoyed year-round, they also are a favorite Christmas cookie recipe.
- Make-Ahead Friendly. You make the dough a couple of days in advance or freeze the cookie dough to enjoy warm Neiman Marcus Cookies when the craving strikes.
- Free to You! Unlike the woman behind the legend, you won't receive an invoice after baking these delicious cookies.
Notes on Ingredients
- Butter: Use unsalted butter to control the sodium in the cookies.
- Flour: Use all-purpose flour for best results.
- Oats: Use rolled old-fashioned or quick-cook oats, not steel-cut oats.
- Sugar: This cookie recipe uses both granulated and brown sugar. Either dark or light brown sugar works for this recipe.
- Walnuts: This recipe works best with walnuts, not any other variety of nuts.
- Chocolate: Not one, not two, use 3 kinds of chocolate! A combination of dark chocolate chips, semi-sweet chocolate chips, and grated milk chocolate is used to give these Neiman Marcus Cookies the best flavor.
Tips for Making Neiman Marcus Cookies
The following tips are provided to help you achieve perfect results. You will find the detailed instructions in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Use room-temperature butter. You can tell your butter is soft enough if you can press gently on the butter and your fingertips leave an indent, but it should not be melted. This will help the butter will cream evenly into your cookie dough and result in a lighter, fluffier cookie.
- Measure the oats and nuts AFTER blending them. This recipe calls for blended oats and blended nuts, which helps to give the cookie its nutty flavor, yet retain a softer texture. But because baking is a science, be sure to process the oats and nuts after blending to ensure your measurements are correct.
- Grate the chocolate bar. Using a combination of grated chocolate and chocolate chips ensures every bite of the cookie features chocolate.
- Add the chocolate to the dry ingredients rather than folding them into the batter at the end. This will coat the chocolate in the flour mixture, which will help to keep the chocolate suspended throughout the cookie batter, instead of sinking to the bottom of the cookie.
- Don't overmix the cookie dough. Once you add the dry ingredients to the creamed butter and sugar, mix just until the flour is fully moistened. This will keep your cookies tender.
- Chill before baking. Refrigerate the cookie dough for at least 30 minutes. This helps the butter get cold again, which will help prevent the cookies from spreading too much in the oven.
- Use a cookie scoop. This will keep each cookie the same size, ensuring they bake evenly.
- Be careful to not overbake. Bake until the edges of the cookies are just set and beginning to brown, yet the center is still soft. The Neiman Marcus cookies will harden a bit more as they cool, so you want them to be JUST set.
Storing Neiman Marcus Cookies
- Room Temperature: Bake and cool the cookies completely. Transfer the cooled baked cookies to an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
- Refrigerate: Bake and cool the cookies completely. Transfer the cooled baked cookies to an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 7 days.
- Freeze: Bake as directed and cool the cookies completely. Freeze the cooled, baked cookies for up to 1 month in an airtight container. Defrost on the counter for a few hours or in the refrigerator overnight and then enjoy.
How to Freeze Neiman Marcus Cookie Dough
I love having frozen Neiman Marcus Cookie dough on hand so that I can bake warm cookies to enjoy whenever the craving strikes.
- Prepare the Neiman Marcus Cookie dough as directed up to chilling.
- Instead of chilling the cookie dough, immediately roll the dough into balls and place them onto a rimmed cookie sheet that has been lined with parchment paper.
- Place the tray into the freezer and freeze for 1 hour, or until solid.
- Transfer the frozen cookie dough balls to a freezer-safe storage bag and store them in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- When ready to enjoy, place frozen cookie dough onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, 2 inches apart, and bake at 375 degrees F for 8-11 minutes.
More Favorite Cookie Recipes
- Cut Out Sugar Cookies
- Snickerdoodle Cookies
- Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
- Shortbread Cookies
- Peanut Butter Blossoms
If you tried this recipe for Neiman Marcus Cookies, I would love for you to leave a review below.
The $250 Neiman Marcus Cookie Recipe
Made with ground oats, blended nuts, and 3 kinds of chocolate, Neiman Marcus Cookies are worth every penny of their legendary price tag!
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Servings: 72 cookies
Calories: 122kcal
Ingredients
- 3½ cups rolled oats (for exactly 2½ blended oats)
- 2½ cups walnuts (for exactly 1½ cups walnuts
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon table salt
- 6 oz dark chocolate chips
- 6 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 4 oz milk chocolate candy bar grated
- 1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- Prepare the blended oats, by placing 3½ cups of rolled oats into a food processor and blender and process until the oats reach the consistency of flour. Measure 2 ½ cups of the blended oats and place them in a large mixing bowl.
- Prepare the blended nuts, by placing 2½ cups of nuts in a blender or food processor. Pulse the nuts until broken down into very small pieces, being careful to not overprocess. Measure 1½ cups of the blended nuts and place them in the same bowl as the oats.
- Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt to the oats and nuts and mix until well combined. Add the chocolate chips and grated chocolate bar and toss with the dry ingredients to lightly coat with flour. Set this mixture aside.
- In a large mixing bowl or stand mixer, cream the butter with the granulated and brown sugar together until fluffy and light in color, about 7-8 minutes. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat until well combined.
- Add the dry ingredients to the creamed butter and fold together until the flour is fully moistened and just combined. Cover the dough and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 48 hours.
- When ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 375℉. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Remove the chilled dough from the refrigerator. Use a medium cookie scoop or 1½ tablespoons for each cookie and then gently roll into even balls. Place the cookie dough onto the prepared baking sheet, spaced 2 inches apart.
- Bake the cookies for 6-7 minutes, until the edges are lightly brown and the centers are just a bit soft.
- Cool the cookies on the cookie sheet for a minute or two before transferring them to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Equipment Needed
Notes
Oats: Either quick cook or old-fashioned rolled oats, not steel-cut oats.
Grated Chocolate: To grate your chocolate, use a hand grater, box grater, or food processor and grate the chocolate bar into small shreds. It works best if your chocolate bar is cold before grating.
Chilling Cookie Dough: Do not skip the step of refrigerating the dough for at least 30 minutes to keep the cookies from spreading too much. You can bake the cookies after 30 minutes or store the dough in the refrigerator for up to 48 hours before baking. If you find that your dough is too hard to scoop after chilling, let it set out at room temperature for 10 minutes, this can happen when chilled longer than a few hours.
Storing Cookies: Store cookies in a sealed container at room temperature for up to 3 days. They will also last in the refrigerator for up to 7 days.
Freezing Cookie Dough: Prepare the recipe as directed. Once the cookies have been rolled into balls, place them onto a rimmed cookie sheet that has been lined with parchment paper. Freeze for 1 hour, or until solid. Transfer the balls to a freezer-safe storage bag and store them in the freezer for up to 3 months. Bake at 375 degrees F for 8-10 minutes directly from the freezer.
Nutrition
Calories: 122kcal | Carbohydrates: 14g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 11mg | Sodium: 60mg | Potassium: 76mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 85IU | Calcium: 19mg | Iron: 0.5mg
Liked this Recipe? Tag me Today!Snap a picture and tag #amindfullmom on Instagram - I would love to see!
This post was originally published in 2016 but was updated in November 2020 and 2023 with new pictures, tips, and a video.
Ellen
First time hearing this story. Thanks for sharing. The cookies are great! Not the best cookie baker but I got this. Did not overcook.Love the freezer tip.
Kristen Chidsey
Thrilled to hear you enjoyed! Thanks for sharing, Ellen!
Tara G
Amazing! i made these for our book club party and now I am adding them to my baking list for gifts!
Kristen Chidsey
Everyone will love them 🙂 Thank you for taking the time to leave a review.
Abby
These are the best cookies! So yummy!
Cathie Leslie
Got this recipe about 2 decades ago. Substitute half of butter with canned pumpkin, also add cinnamon, ginger, cloves. Always double the recipe. Always a hit.
Kristen Chidsey
I LOVE the idea of substuting half the butter with pumpkin! I will be trying that! Thanks for sharing.
Mary Featherston
Can I use pecan flour instead of blend walnuts?
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Mary! I have not tried that myself. I think it may result in a dense cookie, but using half the amount may work. Without experimenting, I can't recommend one way or another.
Karen
One of the best if not the best chocolate chip oatmeal cookies we've had. My son loves this recipe! A keeper for sure! Thanks!
Karen
Kristen Chidsey
I love to hear that Karen! Thanks for sharing.
David
Hi Kristen, I am anxious to dive into these cookies... Here's my dilemma (maybe it's no big deal). I am in the middle of making the Neiman Marcus recipe. Just took a look at the photos and noticed if I compare your image of the mixed dry and wet ingredients to my own, yours appears more moist than mine turned out. I hope this isn't going to be a problem. Should I add something to the mixture to make it more wet or leave it alone?
Kristen Chidsey
Hi David! As long as the flour is absorbed and you feel confident you measured correctly, leave the batter alone. I hope you enjoy!
David
Hi again, Kristen. Just want to thank you once again for this recipe. The NM cookies turned out great. I slightly adjusted the cooking time by adding a few more minutes. I'm very pleased. Highly recommended!
amy
are you using salted butter or unsalted butter? surprised to see no one else asked that question !
Kristen Chidsey
Unsalted butter is always best in baking. I will clarify.
Cheryl
I made this cookie in the early 2000's. I believe that the story is true.
It's the best tasting cookie ever.
Kristen Chidsey
It is my fav--so good! Glad you enjoyed too.
Andrew Faber
What is the effective difference in using blended Quick Cooking Oats / Old Fashioned Oats versus Oat Flour?
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Andrew. Oat flour is just ground oats, but often is ground to finer consistency. You can certainly use oat flour if you have that on hand. It is much more affordable to grind your own and you don't have to grind it as fine if you like the texture--which I do 🙂
Julie Huffman
I have a question.Did you use dark brown sugar for this recipe?
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Julie! I have use both dark and light brown sugar with equal success. And I love both ways😊
AMY DRAISEY
Can you leave out the nuts? Allergic.
Kristen Chidsey
Absolutely Amy!! No modifications needed. Enjoy.
CRoberts
9 minutes, 350 degrees, 1 1/2 inch cookie scoop...... Perfect! Thanks for the recipe
Kristen Chidsey
Wahoo!! So glad you enjoyed these cookies as much as we do.
Catherine
Dear Kristen, I love your tips for making these cookies...they sound fantastic. I love loaded chocolate chip cookies! Send some extra my way please! xo, Catherine
Kristen Chidsey
Coming right up!
Holly
I have never heard of the $250 cookie, or any baked good. But, these look delish! Thank you for linking up with the Online Christmas Cookie Exchange. I have pinned this to the group board.
Kristen Chidsey
You bet!
Erin @ The Speckled Palate
I'm officially drooling over these beautiful cookies, and I love the story behind them. I also love how you break down exactly what you're supposed to do in this post because I think blended oatmeal and nuts would throw me off... And that's a great tip to get butter to room temperature without using the microwave!
Kristen Chidsey
Thanks Erin!
I am glad the tips helped! I hope you enjoy these. I may go have one for a morning snack!