Neiman Marcus Cookies

I ran across this recipe when my kids were little and wanted to help bake cookies. I always look for easy recipes to make. (The fewer steps the better for me.) This recipe requires minimal time to make and it doubles nicely. I make a double batch and break the dough out into smaller portions and freeze it so I can make cookies if company drops by.

I also like this recipe because if I don't have time to watch the oven for multiple batches, I can use the dough to make pan cookies and cut them into bars. I bake the pan for 25-30 minutes. To dress it up, I melt a Hershey bar and drizzle chocolate over the top of the cooled cookies before cutting.

At Christmas time, I have shared with others by typing out the recipe in a pretty font on a colored piece of card stock. I tie the recipe to the outside of a Mason jar. The ingredients, minus the egg and butter, can be layered in the jar, which makes a beautiful presentation. I then tie the jar with some colorful ribbon and put a bow on top. You could also make it more colorful by cutting a square of holiday fabric with pinking shears and placing it under the lid before you screw it on to have the corners showing from the bottom of the lid.

These cookies get crisp when they cool which make them a perfect dunking cookie. If you like a chewier cookie, under bake a bit to keep the softness.

Ingredients

• 2 Cups Butter
• 4 Cups Flour
• 2 Teaspoons Baking Soda
• 2 Cups Sugar
• 5 Cups Blended Oatmeal
• 24 Ounces Chocolate (semi sweet or milk)
• 2 Cups Brown Sugar
• 1 Teaspoon Salt
• 18 Ounce Hershey Bar, grated
• 4 Eggs
• 2 Teaspoons Baking Powder
• 2 Teaspoons Vanilla
• 3 Cups Chopped Nuts, your choice (I prefer pecans or walnuts)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Measure oatmeal and blend in a blender to a fine power. Note: I like to leave a bit of the grain intact for texture.
3. Cream the butter and both sugars. Note: This recipe is best with real butter.
4. Add eggs one at a time and vanilla; mix together with flour, oatmeal, salt, baking powder and soda.
5. Add chocolate chips, Hershey Bar and nuts.
6. Roll into balls and place two inches apart on greased cookie sheet or baking stone.
7. Bake for 10 minutes or until lightly browned.

Makes 112 cookies.