My OperaNeiman-Marcus Cookies
Monday, September 21, 2009 1:43:12 AM
A couple of days ago, I was exchanging some tweets with two friends (at least, I consider them friends, now! XD) and we got to the subject of Cookies. Then, one of them (@adrianaoliveira) asked me if I knew that old story of the famous (maybe not so famous...) Neiman-Marcus Cookie. Well, I said no, and then she offered me the link to the story.
(Watch out! Spoilers!) In a nutshell, it is about a lady who was eating at a Neiman-Marcus Café, in Dallas, and had a wonderful cookie. Asking if she could get the recipe, the waiter answered “two fifty”. So, she decided to buy it. It was actually amazing US$250,00, and not US$2,50. So, as a pacific revenge, the lady decided to spread the recipe to every cookie lover that could ever get interested in.
After getting to know the story and checking the recipe, I thought it was well worth the shot, so me and another friend (@pratofundo) would try o bake it, to check what the results were.
Today, I decided to give my shot. I must say, it was one of the very first (almost) perfect mise en place I had ever done! (^.^ I’m proud!)
Well, the recipe is pretty straight-forward, just as my basic chocolate chip cookie recipe. It only demands more ingredients.
(Watch out! Spoilers!) In a nutshell, it is about a lady who was eating at a Neiman-Marcus Café, in Dallas, and had a wonderful cookie. Asking if she could get the recipe, the waiter answered “two fifty”. So, she decided to buy it. It was actually amazing US$250,00, and not US$2,50. So, as a pacific revenge, the lady decided to spread the recipe to every cookie lover that could ever get interested in.
After getting to know the story and checking the recipe, I thought it was well worth the shot, so me and another friend (@pratofundo) would try o bake it, to check what the results were.
Today, I decided to give my shot. I must say, it was one of the very first (almost) perfect mise en place I had ever done! (^.^ I’m proud!)
Well, the recipe is pretty straight-forward, just as my basic chocolate chip cookie recipe. It only demands more ingredients.
And my opinion? Well, here it is: It’s got a good consistency (chewy inside and crispy on the edges), a good flavor and a different texture. About the flavor, though, I’d add a little bit more chocolate, or change it to semi-sweet chocolate, to enhance its chocolatiness. And the other thing I’d change is the oatmeal. I would reduce it a little bit (maybe to about ¾ cups, instead of 1¼ cups the original recipe demands. I thought the oat flavor was too strong, as well as the tiny little oat bits (I don’t know if I should have tried to blending it a little longer) that were too present in the texture.
But aside from that, I’d give this recipe an average grade of 8.5! With just a couple of adjustments, it would be perfect for me! Oh, and the following recipe was reduced to ¼ by me.
The Neiman-Marcus Cookie
100g butter, at room temperature
½ cup white sugar
½ cup brown sugar
1 egg
½ tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup flour
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
1¼ cups blended oatmeal (I’d reduce it to ¾)**
60g Hershey Bar, grated (I used Alpino Nestlé)
170g chocolate chips (I used Nestlé w/ cocoa nibs)
¾ cups chopped nuts (toasted Brazil nuts for me)
In a large bowl, cream the butter and both sugars.
Lightly whisk the egg and vanilla and add it to the butter & sugar mixture.
Combine together flour, salt, baking powder, and soda, and fold it to the mixture. Add the oatmeal, folding until it incorporates everything. Add chocolate chips, Hershey Bar and nuts.
Roll the dough into 1 tbsp. balls and place one inch apart on a cookie sheet (for bite-sized cookies). Bake for 10 minutes at 375 degrees. Makes about 50 cookies. (For larger cookies, bake 6 at a time, using a 2 inch-scoop. Bake them for 20 minutes.
** measure oatmeal and blend in a blender to a fine powder.
Anonymous # Monday, September 21, 2009 2:00:24 AM
Anonymous # Wednesday, September 23, 2009 1:43:20 AM
Renato MoraesRhiga # Wednesday, September 23, 2009 2:07:34 AM
Anonymous # Tuesday, October 20, 2009 8:55:44 PM
Renato MoraesRhiga # Wednesday, October 21, 2009 1:39:03 AM