Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe #14 – Neiman Marcus
Recipe: Neiman Marcus Chocolate Chip Cookie
Source: www.neimanmarcus.com As I explained in my previous post, Neiman Marcus has a “famous” Chocolate Chip Cookie, which for some time the recipe had been kept a secret. The “Urban Legend” of the famed Neiman Marcus Cookie that has been circulating the internet, claims to have the Neiman Marcus Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe from the chef. However, in response to the “Urban Legend”, the store posted the actual recipe on their website, and the Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe that they declare is theirs, is completely different than the “Urban Legend” recipe. Who knows what the real recipe is? Is the Urban Legend true and Neiman Marcus is lying, or vice versa?
Ingredients:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1 cup light brown sugar
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoon instant espresso coffee powder
1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 300ยบ. Cream butter with the sugars using an electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy (approximately 30 seconds).
2. Beat in egg and the vanilla extract for another 30 seconds.
3. In a mixing bowl, sift together the dry ingredients and beat into the butter mixture at low speed for about 15 seconds. Stir in the espresso powder and chocolate chips.
4. Using a 1 ounce scoop or a 2 tablespoon measure, drop cookie dough onto a greased cookie sheet about 3 inches apart. Gently press down on the dough with the back of a spoon to spread out into a 2 inch circle. Bake for about 20 minutes or until nicely browned around the edges. Bake a little longer for a crispier cookie.
Yield: 2 dozen
Total Taste-Testers: 22
Average Scores: on a scale of 1-5 with 5 being the highest score
Taste: 3.7
Texture: 3
Amount of chocolate chips: 4.5
Quality of chocolate: 4
Overall: 3.6
My review: This recipe couldn’t be more different that the “Urban Legend” Neiman Marcus recipe. This recipe produced a much more classic chocolate chip cookie; however, the espresso powder threw a lot of people off. While the recipe only calls for 1 1/2 teaspoons of instant espresso powder, it permeates the dough and gives the cookie a very strong aroma and taste. This is a very thick cookie with a crisp outer edge and a very chewy center, not a gooey chewy, but a tough chewy. Again, with only 1 egg, the cookie was slightly grainy. While this cookie had a very different taste, I neither loved it or hated it. This is a very middle of the road chocolate chip cookie for me, and from the scores, the Taste-Testers agreed. Even though the “Urban Legend” recipe is not a classic chocolate chip cookie recipe, I thought it was ten times better than what Neiman Marcus claims as their Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe.
Taste-Tester comments:
* “I love the coffee flavor of these, and they are packed with chips- yum! They are a little tough texture wise, but overall delicious.”
* “This cookie tasted a bit weird, and it’s also a little too hard around the edges.”
* “Chocolate chips taste like coffee, and their is a weird dry texture.”
* “I felt this cookie was hard and tasted like coffee.”
* “A little sweet.”
* “Seems a little dry and crunchy on the edges.”
* “The texture of this cookie is too tough. It doesn’t feel comfortable in the mouth.”
* “Too coffee flavored for me and a bit chewy and tough.”
