Today, in part to dispel the rumor, the NM website publishes the recipe. You can read if for yourself at the link below (you can shop there, too!).
When Julia Child was living in Paris in the 1950s, and in the 1960s when she stayed at her home in Provence, she traveled with her favorite baking chocolate chips from the USA! They were the one ingredient that she could not find a French equivalent substitution. This recipe from NM showcases the lovely pellets of gooey, rich chocolate that Julia loved!
The cookies are delicious because of the higher content of brown sugar and the addition of powder espresso or instant coffee. As I've said before, chocolate and coffee are a perfect marriage. Baking cookies is an easy and memorable activity to do with children of any age.
One trick I recommend is to double the recipe. Bake half and refrigerate the other half of the dough in plastic wrap overnight. You can get the shape of a log by placing the plastic wrapped dough log in an empty paper towel roll sliced open as seen in the photo below. It forms a perfect shape. . . like the refrigerator cookies people purchase, but better.
The next morning, while the oven is preheating, you can easily slice the cookies and place on the cookie sheet. Even if you prepare the dough and let the children cut the cookies it will make them feel like they are baking. You can also freeze the log just defrost overnight in refrigerator when ready to bake. See my notes at the end of the recipe for changes I made to the original NM recipe here.
Yum!
Neiman Marcus Chocolate Chip Cookies (from the link below)
Ingredients for 2 dozen. Double for 2 batches.
1/2 cup butter softened (one stick)
1 cup light brown sugar
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon each baking powder, baking soda, and salt
1 1/2 teaspoons instant espresso coffee powder (I use instant decaf coffee)
1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
Method:
Beat butter and sugars till smooth using mixer. Add egg and vanilla. Add coffee powder. The NM recipe adds dry coffee with the chips. Since espresso powder was made to be rehydrated I tested, and it blends into dough better when added to the liquid portion. Mix dry ingredients. Add to liquid. Turn off mixer and add chocolate chips by hand. Form cookies using a soup spoon for consistent shape as shown in photo.
Bake at 300 for 20 minutes. This is lower temperature than most chocolate chip cookie recipes. Cooks perfectly, but cool on silicone sheet or in pan. Moving them immediately they will fall apart.
A few tips: Let cookies cool on the silicone sheet or pan before removing. Very gooey at first. I use 1/2 chips and 1/2 chopped baking chocolate one 3.5 ounce bar (50 - 65% cocoa) as these cookies have so much sugar the combo of semisweet and dark chocolate is perfect. I also use 1/2 all purpose flour and 1/2 ground oatmeal (by grinding old fashion oatmeal in my mini Cuisinart). Always testing for perfection!
Neiman Marcus Chocolate Chip Cookies Website
Beat butter and sugars till smooth using mixer. Add egg and vanilla. Add coffee powder. The NM recipe adds dry coffee with the chips. Since espresso powder was made to be rehydrated I tested, and it blends into dough better when added to the liquid portion. Mix dry ingredients. Add to liquid. Turn off mixer and add chocolate chips by hand. Form cookies using a soup spoon for consistent shape as shown in photo.
Bake at 300 for 20 minutes. This is lower temperature than most chocolate chip cookie recipes. Cooks perfectly, but cool on silicone sheet or in pan. Moving them immediately they will fall apart.
A few tips: Let cookies cool on the silicone sheet or pan before removing. Very gooey at first. I use 1/2 chips and 1/2 chopped baking chocolate one 3.5 ounce bar (50 - 65% cocoa) as these cookies have so much sugar the combo of semisweet and dark chocolate is perfect. I also use 1/2 all purpose flour and 1/2 ground oatmeal (by grinding old fashion oatmeal in my mini Cuisinart). Always testing for perfection!
Neiman Marcus Chocolate Chip Cookies Website
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| Cooling on mat before eating - using chips and chopped bar leaves speckles of chocolate in every bite! |
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| Dough ribbon stage includes dry coffee before flour |
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| Add flour and dry ingredients |
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| Add chocolate by hand |
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| Make log using paper towel roll for cutting cookies |
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| Ready to refrigerate |
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| Ready to bake 300 for 20 minutes |
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| Cookie log slice and bake YEP using the $1 bench scraper from this post click link: Julia Child Must Have $1 Kitchen Tool |
