Not Neiman Marcus' Chocolate Chip Cookies...Round II!

. Redemption!!

I'm so happy about it.  And I think Brett was, too.  Let me explain.

It's been a long few weeks with work and all, so Robbie and I decided that this last weekend was a good one to just get outta town.  So we packed up our bags and the pups and headed down to Kansas City to visit Robbie's sister, Kelli and [her hubby] Brett.  Unfortunately Kelli had to be back in Omaha this weekend, so we ended up just switching places with her.  We realized that Brett had probably been looking forward to a weekend on his own but that didn't stop us.  Sorry, Brett...

But to make up for it, I decided to bring Brett some of my all time favorite cookies.  All.  Time.  Favorites.  You may be familiar with these if you've been reading my blog for awhile, I posted about the Not Neiman Marcus' Chocolate Chip Cookies on a Tried & True Tuesday post a while back.  However, the [one] picture was absolutely horrendous [taken before I even knew about the blogging world} so I know these cookies haven't gotten the attention they deserve.

Anywho, I didn't want another disaster happening like the Fourth of July trip to Colorado.  So I made for certain these babies were making it to KC.  And guess what?  They did!  The entire plate, dog slobber-free!  See, I told you I redeemed myself.  And here's my proof.

I took this just so you know I'm not lying.  They really did make it!

These cookies are to die for.  They have a great thickness, ultra chewy, lovely texture from ground up oats, and fully loaded with both semisweet and milk chocolate.  This is a go-to recipe of mine, I seriously can't get enough of these suckers!  Someone vouch for me, please.  Robbie?  Brett?

I suppose you may be wondering what the name of this cookie is all about, too.  Well from a little research, I found out.  So basically, a woman was eating at a cafe in Neiman Marcus (surprise, surprise) with her daughter and the two enjoyed a chocolate chip cookie for dessert.  The cookie was so fantastic that the woman asked the waitress for the recipe.  The waitress informed the woman that she could purchase the recipe for 'two fifty' and the woman readily agreed, telling her to add it to her tab.  However, when she received the bill a month later, she was astounded to find out that the clerk had meant '$250'!  Enraged, the woman preceded to e-mail the recipe to every she knew to get back at the department store.  Which now brings us here!

Just kidding, that situation is actually a myth.  But it is the story behind this wonderful cookie, not sure if I would pay $250 for it but I would definitely front some cash [wink, wink].

Our weekend trip turned out really great, by the way.  We got into town late Friday night [after a couple several wrong turns] and then Saturday morning, after a quick walk with the pups, Robbie and I headed to The Plaza for a little bit of work time and shopping!  Not gonna lie though, the shopping trip was kind of a bust.  Both Robbie and I were beyond exhausted for some reason so we weren't exactly in the shopping mood.  I felt like I was fighting my eyelids the entire day, not fun.  So we headed home, picked up Brett, and headed out to our all time favorite BBQ joint [all time favs were in abundance this weekend].  And what place is this you ask?  You may have seen it on The Food Network, or maybe not.  But if you're ever in the area, put Arthur Bryant's on your to-do list.  GAH!  This place is one fabulous hole-in-the-wall.  No offense.  HUGE servings, juicy meats, best-ever baked beans, fries, and homemade BBQ sauces.  What's not to love?  I think one of Robbie's secret motivations for taking the trip to KC was that he knew we would be making a visit to this place.  It's that good.

Irritated.  He wanted to eat, not take pictures!

Well hope every one had a wonderful weekend!  And if you didn't, make a batch of these cookies.  They'll brighten your mood up in no time .

My Notes:

• Depending on what you're going for will determine how much you ground up the oats.  Last time, I ground the oats quite a bit so you most likely wouldn't have known they were even there.  They just added volume to the cookie.  However, this time around, they didn't get ground up quite as much, which you can tell by the pictures.  The oat flavor was a bit more prominent and the texture resembled more of an oatmeal cookie.  Either way, they're still my favorite!
• Also, last time I made these cookies, I used light brown sugar as the original recipe called for.  However, I wanted the cookies to be a little more eye appealing.  So I chose to try out dark brown sugar and the cookies looked beautiful!  It gave them that golden brown look and I loved it.  But taste wise, you can definitely use whatever you have on hand.
• I chose to use three bars of Guittard semisweet chocolate and chopped them up and also Guittard Milk Chocolate Chips [another one of my favs!].  I also excluded the nuts this time, but I know they would add fantastic flavor and crunch!
• The directions say to let the dough rest for a few minutes to set up.  I found that my dough was quite sticky so I stuck in the fridge for that time.  Also, keep the dough refrigerated in between baking batches, the dough will be much easier to handle.

Ingredients:

2 c. old fashioned oats

2 c. all purpose flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 c. unsalted butter, room temperature

3/4 c. light or dark brown sugar

1/2 c. sugar

2 tbsp. light corn syrup

2 large eggs

2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 c. semisweet chocolate chips

1 (4 oz.) milk chocolate bar, coarsely grated or finely chopped

1 c. walnuts or pecans, chopped (optional)

Directions:

1.  Heat oven to 350F.  Move oven rack to upper third of oven.  Grease baking sheets or line with parchment paper.

2.  In a food processor or blender, grind oats to a very fine powder.  

3.  In a medium bowl, thoroughly stir together oats, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Set aside.

4.  In a large bowl, with electric mixer on medium speed, beat butter until light and fluffy.  Add eggs and vanilla extract and beat until evenly incorporated.  Add half of flour mixture and mix until just combined.  Beat in chocolate chips, chopped chocolate, and nuts (if using).  Beat in remaining half of flour mixture and beat until evenly incorporated.  Let stand 5 to 10 minutes or until dough firms up just slightly.

5.  Divide dough into quarters.  

6.  Divide each quarter into 5 or 6 equal portions.  Shape each portion into balls with lightly greased hands.  Place on baking sheets about 3 inches apart.  Pat down balls to 1-inch thick.

7.  Bake 9 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned and centers are just beginning to firm up.  Transfer baking sheets to wire rack and let stand until cookies firm up slightly (about 3 to 4 minutes).  Transfer cookies to wire rack and let cool completely.

Yield: 2 dozen cookies