In honor of its 100th birthday on September 10, luxury retailer Neiman Marcus ran full-page newspaper ads inviting customers to "stop in today and have one of those infamous cookies you've heard about -- our treat. It inspired an urban legend, and you can find the real story at NeimanMarcus.com/cookie."Call me a stickler, but I think the PR folks got that backwards. Instead of "It inspired an urban legend," the copy should read, "It was inspired BY an urban legend."
See, Neiman Marcus didn't even make a chocolate chip cookie until after its name became associated with the aforementioned legend during the mid-1990s. The company came up with a recipe and began handing out cookies for free in a lighthearted effort to neutralize what might otherwise have become a rather damaging bit of misinformation.
Not that you should turn down one of those free chocolate chip cookies if offered. It seems they really have inspired an urban legend -- about inspiring an urban legend.
Read More About It:
• The Neiman Marcus Cookie Recipe - Netlore Archive
• 100-Year-Old Neiman Marcus Resigned to Cookie Story - Denver Post
• Neiman Marcus: 100 Years of Style - Ft. Worth Star-Telegram
Comments
I received this SAME recipe in the early 80′s, but as Mrs. Fields Recipe, same EXACT story. Perhaps it’s a Hershey original???
I remember this fraud being passed around on photocopies in the 1980s as a Neiman Marcus story. A few years later, I came across the same thing circulated as a Mrs Field’s story. I have seen the same story also as taking place in the cafe at Nordstrom department store.
i tried this recipe in hopes of something big – but what a huge disappointment. It was cakey and it lacked flavor. It was nice to look at but that was ll it had to offer.