A friend of a friend of a friend had lunch at Neiman-Marcus in Dallas last November, and for dessert she had a cookie. She thought it was the most wonderful cookie she had ever tasted and asked if the recipe was available. She was told that it was, but there was a charge of two-fifty. She said that was fine. She got the recipe and told them to charge it to her account.

In December, when she received her bill, there was a charge for $250.00. She called Neimans and told them it was a mistake--the charge should be $2.50. She was told there was NO mistake--that the charge for the recipe was correct. They told her it was not a returnable item and she would have to pay the amount charged to her account or become delinquent.

The bottom line is she paid.

She vowed to get back at Neiman's and wants to give the recipe out to everyone she possibly can. She asks that everyone who gets a copy send it to everyone they know. So here it is.

NEIMAN'S $250.00 COOKIES:

2 c. butter
2 c. granulated sugar
2 c. brown sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
4 c. flour
5 c. blended oatmeal
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. baking soda
24 oz. chocolate chips
1 (8 oz.) Hershey bar, grated (1/2 lb.)
3 c. chopped nuts

Cream butter and both sugars. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix together with flour, oatmeal, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Add chips, grated Hershey bar and nuts. Roll into balls and place 2 inches apart on a cookie sheet. Bake for 6 minutes at 375 degrees F. Makes 112 cookies.

Blended oatmeal: Measure and process in blender to a fine powder.

Happy Baking!