Article Neiman Marcus Cookie Recipe
Summary: Despite a persistent rumor to the contrary, Neiman Marcus has never sold a cookie recipe for $250.
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Recipe was good, But it cost me too much dough. And now I am broke. (by AB) That’s a good cookie. I’ll get that Neiman Marcus. Here’s the recipe. (by Mike M.) Oh, the injustice. So much for one recipe. Bad, Neiman Marcus! (by Alex) |
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A widely circulated tale alleges that Neiman Marcus once charged a customer $250 for a cookie recipe.
The Chicago Sun-Times recorded an early version of the tale in 1992:
The letter went on to state that, in the spirit of revenge, the victim was giving away the $250 recipe at no charge to anyone who wanted it.
An actual cookie recipe was included with the story:
NEIMAN-MARCUS $250 COOKIE RECIPE
2 cups butter
2 cups sugar
2 cups brown sugar
4 eggs
2 tablespoons vanilla
4 cups flour
3 cups blended oatmeal (measure and blend to a fine powder in a blender)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
24 ounces chocolate chips
1 (8-ounce) grated Hershey bar
3 cups chopped nutsCream butter and both sugars; add eggs and vanilla. Mix together the flour, oatmeal, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Add chips, grated Hershey bar and nuts. Roll into balls and place 2 inches apart on a cookie sheet. Bake for 6 minutes at 375 F. Makes 112 cookies, but recipe can be halved.
Needless to say, this story was false, as have been all the subsequent (but basically similar) versions of it. Neiman Marcus has denied numerous times that such an incident ever occurred. In 1992 a spokesperson for the store said, “There has never been a Neiman Marcus Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe that we sold for $250. Never.”
History
The Neiman Marcus cookie story was first reported in newspapers during the late 1980s. However, the tale is likely older than that. Pat Zajac, a Neiman Marcus spokeswoman in Dallas, when interviewed for the Chicago Sun-Times article referenced above, said that the tale had been circulating since she came to work for the chain in 1986.
Despite Neiman Marcus’s efforts to debunk the rumor during the 1980s, the rise of the internet during the 1990s gave the tale an enormous boost. It became one of the most widely circulated email rumors during the 1990s.
Ironically, Neiman Marcus did not even serve chocolate chip cookies in its restaurants when the rumor first began to circulate. Nor was there a “Neiman Marcus Cafe” in any of its three Dallas stores. The restaurants in those three stores were called Zodiac, Zodiac at North Park, and The Woods.
Neiman Marcus only began to serve chocolate chip cookies in 1997, and it did so as a humorous response to the rumor. It simultaneously posted the recipe for its cookies on its website, free of charge. Departing from the cookie recipe of the legend, Neiman Marcus did not include any oatmeal in its cookies, but did add 1-1/2 teaspoons of espresso coffee powder.
On September 10, 2007, the store celebrated its 100th anniversary by giving away complimentary Neiman Marcus chocolate chip cookies in some of its stores.
Earlier Legends
The Neiman Marcus Cookie tale is a variant of the rip-off recipe legend that dates as far back as the 1930s. Such legends have taken a number of different forms, but they invariably tell of a person who asks a restaurant or a store for one of their recipes, and is later charged an outrageous amount for the information. The outraged customer is advised that she (it’s usually a she) must pay the bill, and so, in revenge, she determines to share the expensive recipe with as many people as possible.
The earliest known version of this legend was the Red Velvet Cake rumor. This tale, popular in the 1950s and 60s, alleged that the exclusive Waldorf-Astoria Hotel had charged an out-of-town customer $300 for their cake recipe.
Analysis
The Neiman Marcus Cookie tale expresses popular mistrust of corporations. It confirms the public’s fear of the greed of corporations, and then offers a simple way to get even with the corporation. All you have to do is help disseminate the recipe, which for most people is as simple as clicking the forward button in their email program.
Neiman Marcus may have attracted such a rumor because of its reputation for high prices and catering to the wealthy. A popular nickname for the store is “Needlessly Marked Up.”
References
- Iggers, Jeremy. (June 5, 1998). “Neiman’s Cookie Recipe: Hit or Myth?” The Dallas Morning News.
- Puzo, Daniel. (February 2, 1992). “Recipe sale exposed as just a hoax.” Chicago Sun-Times.
- Whitaker, Barbara. (July 2, 1997). “The $250 Cookie Recipe Exposed.” The New York Times.