Neiman Marcus Chocolate Chip Cookie

This is the famous Neiman Marcus chocolate chip cookie recipe that circulated as a chain letter and email forward for decades. Whether the origin story is true or not, the recipe itself is legit. It’s a big-batch powerhouse that makes over a hundred cookies with a texture and flavor profile that sets it apart from your standard Toll House.

The twist is blended oatmeal. You process the oats in a blender until they’re a fine powder, almost like oat flour. It disappears into the dough completely but adds a nutty depth and a chewier, more substantial texture than all-purpose flour alone. You’d never know oats were in there.

Then there’s the double chocolate approach: chocolate chips for gooey pockets plus a grated chocolate bar that melts into the dough itself, creating a chocolatey base that makes these richer than a single-chocolate recipe.

Pro Tips

• Blend the oatmeal until it’s truly powder-fine. Any visible flakes will create a different texture than intended.
• Grate the chocolate bar on a box grater. The fine shreds melt into the dough during mixing, not during baking.
• Space these 2 inches apart. They spread significantly.
• Freeze balls of dough on a sheet pan, then transfer to bags. Bake from frozen, adding 2 extra minutes. Fresh-baked cookies any time you want them.

Variations

• Use pecans instead of walnuts for a sweeter, more buttery nut flavor.
• Swap the milk chocolate bar for dark chocolate for a more intense, less sweet cookie.
• Roll the dough balls in flaky sea salt before baking for a salted chocolate chip cookie.