The Tale of the Apocryphal Cookie

From the days before email, there was a wonderful chain letter with the story of the department store cookie. Typically, the store is Neiman Marcus. According to Snopes, it's not a true tale, thus the name of Apocryphal Cookie. Not a true story - but yummy non-the less.

Urban legend has it that a woman and her friends went to lunch at a posh restaurant in a very elegant department store. There the woman had a wonderful cookie for desert. She asked the waiter if the recipe was available. He said yes, but that it cost two fifty. She said that was fine and to put it on her tab. Off she went with the recipe.

When she received the bill the following month, she was stunned to discover that it wasn't $2.50 - it was $250! Despite her complaint, the store insisted that it was the correct price. To protest, she copied the recipe and distributed it to everyone she knew and asked them to do the same.

And so I came into the recipe. In fact, I still have the yellowed photo copy from so many moons ago. This recipe, with a few minor changes, has become a favorite of ours. If you haven't seen it, you'll find it below.


Apocryphal Cookies

* 1 cups butter, softened
* 2 cups sugar
* 4 eggs
* 2 cups brown sugar
* 2 tsp vanilla
* 4 cups flour
* 5 cups blended oatmeal (measure oatmeal and whir in a blender to a fine powder)
* 2 tsp baking soda
* 1 tsp baking powder
* 1 tsp salt
* 24 oz. raisinets or chocolate chips or cinnamon chips
* 8 oz grated milk chocolate
* 3 cups chopped nuts (optional)

Cream the butter and sugars together until smooth and creamy. Add the eggs and vanilla. Slowly add the dry ingredients of flour, oatmeal, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Blend completely and fold in chocolate, raisinets and nuts. Drop teaspoon size balls into an ungreased cookie sheet, about 2 inches apart. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes at 375 degrees. Remove from oven and place on racks to cool. Makes 124 cookies - but you can half the recipe.

Whether the story is true or not, this is a yummy cookie that deserves its place in legendary stature.