Okay, everyone....a true story of justice in the good old U.S. of A. Thought y'all might enjoy this; if nothing else, it shows internet justice, if it can be called that.
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, here it is, and please pass it to someone else or run a few copies.... I paid for it; now you can have it for free. (Recipe may be halved.):
2 cups butter 4 cups flower
2 tsp. soda 2 cups sugar
5 cups blended oatmeal** 24 oz. chocolate chips
2 cups brown sugar 1 tsp. salt
1 8 oz. Hershey Bar (grated) 4 eggs
2 tsp. baking powder 3 cups chopped nuts (your choice)
2 tsp. vanilla
** measure oatmeal and blend in a blender to a fine powder.
Cream the butter and both sugars. Add eggs and vanilla; mix
together
with flour, oatmeal, salt, baking powder, and soda. Add chocolate
chips, Hershey Bar and nuts. Roll into balls and place two
inches
apart on a cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes at 375 degrees.
Makes 112 cookies.
Have fun!!! This is not a joke --- this is a true story..
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That's it. Please, pass it along to everyone you know, single people,
mailing
lists, etc.....
Love,
John, Debbie, Matthew, Nathan
From cookie@neimanmarcus.com Mon Apr 28 05:24 PDT 1997
Date: Mon, 28 Apr 1997 07:27:19 -0500
From: cookie@neimanmarcus.com (Cookie (Neinman Marcus))
Subject: The Cookie Monster
To: gilkey@math.uoregon.edu
THE COOKIE MONSTER
For several years, we have heard a story about the mythical Neiman
Marcus cookie recipe. We don't know how it got started or who is
perpetuating the myth, but this "cookie monster" just won't die! We
would never charge anyone for a Neiman Marcus recipe. We share our
restaurant recipes for free upon request.
This same story circulated in the late 1930's about a lady who dined
at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York. She liked the Red Velvet
Cake so much she asked for the recipe. When she received her hotel
bill, she had been charged $100 for the recipe. (This was during the
Depression, so it seems our version of the story has been adjusted for
inflation!)
Neiman Marcus never served cookies in our restaurants until recently,
when we developed a new chocolate chip cookie in response to this
myth! Following is the recipe (free of charge, of course.) Please
feel free to share this letter and the recipe with anyone you know who
may be similarly interested in the truth behind this "cookie that
won't crumble!"
Sincerely,
Neiman Marcus
cookie@neimanmarcus.com
FREE FOR THE TAKING
The Neiman Marcus Chocolate Chip Cookie
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
3 Tablespoons granulated sugar
1 egg
2 Tablespoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1-3/4 cup flour
1-1/2 teaspoons instant espresso powder, slightly crushed
8 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
1. Cream the butter with the sugars until fluffy.
2. Beat in the egg and the vanilla extract.
3. Combine the dry ingredients and beat into the butter mixture.
Stir in the chocolate chips.
4. Drop by large spoonfuls onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 375
degrees for 8-10 minutes, or 10-12 minutes for a crispier cookie.
Makes 12-15 large cookies