M&M Neiman Marcus Cookies

In the 90's there was a story circulating about some lady who went to Neiman Marcus and had a cookie.  She asked for the recipe and was told she could have it for two fifty.  She thought that meant $2.50, but they charged her $250 so to execute her revenge she emailed it to all her friends and told them to share it with everyone they knew.  It turned out to not be true but the cookie recipe still made it into just about every household at the time, including mine.   Oh, the 90's.

I've always been a huge fan of this recipe and I've made it dozens of times.  I like the base of this cookie much better than a traditional chocolate chip cookie.  My favorite part is the addition of ground oatmeal instead of only using flour.  I think this makes the cookies so much more interesting - the texture is better and it has a heartier flavor.

Another great about this recipe is that you can mix in all sorts different things.  The traditional version includes grated chocolate, chocolate chips and chopped nuts.  In this version, I included white and semi-sweet chocolate chips, M&M's and Walnuts.  Why?  Because they were there.

The batter comes together like all other cookies - cream butter & sugars together, add eggs and vanilla, add dry ingredients, and then add all the mix-ins.

I could eat this entire bowl of cookie dough.  I have to physically remove myself from the kitchen while the cookies are baking so that I don't stand and eat the dough until I am nauseous.  I'm convinced that I would lose 5 pounds if I could just stop eating cookie dough and cake batter.  I have self control when it comes to finished baked goods.  I have no self control when it comes to unbaked goods.

Once I was trying to be really good and was determined not to eat any cookie dough from a batch of cooking I was making.  I didn't trust myself so I put packing tape over my mouth while I was mixing up the dough.  It worked but it was not comfortable - packing tape doesn't breath and my face was really sweaty.  

These are great and easy and a nice change up from a regular M&M cookie.  You should make them.  I challenge you not to eat any batter.

M&M Neimen Marcus Cookies

Ingredients
2 1/2 cups Oatmeal
1 cup Butter (2 sticks)
1 cup Brown Sugar
1 cup Sugar
2 Eggs
1 tsp Vanilla
2 cups All Purpose Flour
1/2 tsp Salt
1 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 cup White Chocolate Chips
1/2 cup Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips
1 cup M&Ms
1/2 cup chopped Nuts (Walnuts or Pecans)

Instructions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Place the oatmeal in a blender and grind into a fine powder.  Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugars on medium speed for 3 minutes.  Add the eggs and vanilla and mix on low speed until just combined.  Add the ground oatmeal, flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda and mix on low speed until just combined.  Add the chocolate, M&M's and nuts and mix on low speed until just combined.

Roll into balls and place 2 inches apart on a cookie sheet.

Baking for 10 minutes until golden brown.

Enjoy!
Julie