Neiman Marcus Chocolate Chip Cookies are the stuff of legends. Urban legends. In summary, someone claimed to have requested and received the recipe from the department store and was billed for $250. Whether true or false isn’t our concern. All we care about is how we can’t get enough of this chocolate chip cookie recipe that’s really something special. (And we also have a recipe for a slightly different Neiman Marcus chocolate chip cookie recipe that calls for ground oats rather than espresso powder. We may have been following a hoax, but it’s a darn good hoax at that. One that we’ve been pretending to fall for over and over and over again.–Renee Schettler Rossi
Neiman Marcus Chocolate Chip Cookie
Ingredients
- 1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
- 1 1/2 teaspoons instant espresso or coffee powder, (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300°F (150°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium speed, beat the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until the mixture is fluffy, 30 to 60 seconds.
- Beat in the egg and vanilla and mix until well combined, 30 to 60 seconds.
- In another bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the mixer, reduce the mixer speed to low, and beat until combined, 15 to 30 seconds.
- Add the chocolate chips and espresso powder and mix for 15 seconds more.
- Using a 1-ounce scoop, or using a 2 tablespoon measure, drop the cookie dough onto the parchment in dollops about 3 inches apart. Gently press down on the dough with the back of a spoon to spread out into 2-inch circles; there should be room for 6 or 8 cookies at a time.
- Bake for about 20 minutes, until the cookies are nicely browned around the edges.
- Place the baking sheet on a wire rack to cool slightly. Transfer the cookies to the rack to cool completely.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe Testers’ Reviews
Where has this recipe been hiding? A definite Testers Choice, this is just what you’d expect from a cookie Neiman Marcus would put its name on—rich, sophisticated, well-crafted, and superbly delicious.
I used Ghirardelli 60% bittersweet chocolate chips, which paired especially well with the instant espresso coffee powder, both adding depth and richness to these upscale cookies. I don’t know if it was just my thinking about the grandeur, luxury, and larger-than-life scale of Neiman Marcus, but the chocolate chips seemed not only just the right intensity and bitterness, but also just a bit larger than the usual semisweet chips from the grocery store.
First, I baked a batch for 20 minutes, and then baked another batch for a few minutes longer. The latter batch produced cookies that were crisper—more to my liking. For those who prefer a not-so-crisp cookie, remove them promptly from the oven at the 20-minute mark. Either texture, you’ll have a cookie you can proudly pull out for company, or serve at snack time at home with a tall glass of milk.
These cookies do keep well. I set aside a tin for an event I was hosting nearly a week later and the cookies showed little apparent loss of freshness, flavor, and texture. On a table of offerings that also included homemade chocolate cake and peanut butter cookies, these were the first to go.
These chocolate chip cookies are fantastic! Easy to make and they turned out perfectly. I didn’t soften my butter and omitted the espresso and the resulting cookies were the best possible combination of crispy and chewy. Everyone in our household loved them.
What would happen if I didn’t put in the instant coffee? Would the cookies still turn out alright? Or should I make additional adjustments to the remaining ingredients?
The cookies will turn out just fine if you simply omit the instant coffee, Kasey. No need to worry. Look forward to hearing what you think….
I love this recipe! I soften the butter on the counter before beginning to get the perfect consistency. Usually I hand mix to get better results. My Kitchen Aid usually turns out cookies that run. I also bake round balls at 350 for 10 minutes, and get perfect (albeit not particularly browned on top) cookies. They get rave reviews.
Courtney, if you have a convection oven, blast the cookies for the last several minutes with convection heat. It browns them beautifully.
Tried this recipe twice. The taste is very good, but I made a few adjustments. The softened butter doesnt really work well for me. The cookies turned out a little flatter, and out of shape.
The second time I baked it, I cut the butter into small pieces and rub it into the flour. Then, I mix the sugar and egg mixture into the flour & butter mixture. When it was time to bake, I rolled the dough into small balls. That way, when it baked, it formed perfect looking cookies.
Both times, the cookies seems to taste a little too dry after 2 days of storage in an airtight container. I think I’ll try baking it with some moisture (maybe a spoon of milk or something) next time, and see if it get better.