Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe: The Mrs. Fields Cookies Hoax
"Mrs. Fields" Cookies
I clearly remember the first Mrs. Fields cookie I ever ate. The year was 1986 and I was a recent college graduate on the hunt for a job. Not much was turning up, so while I job searched, I took a part-time temporary holiday position at Bloomingdale's in Dallas.
Admittedly, it was not my ideal job, being on my feet all day and dealing with some rather ill-mannered customers, but it had one really delicious perk - free Mrs. Fields cookies on the store's third floor at closing.
Wow. Those cookies melted in my mouth and without a doubt, were the best chocolate chip cookies I had eaten in a long time, if not ever. Interestingly, about a year later, a friend gave me a paper with a chocolate chip cookie recipe claiming to be for Mrs. Fields cookies.
The story told how the woman who originally purchased the Mrs. Fields cookie recipe thought she was paying $2.50 for it when she was told it would cost "two-fifty." It turned out to be $250, and according to the story, she copied the recipe and gave it to everyone she knew and asked them to pass it along, all pre-computer era of course. Later, it was said that this particular recipe for Mrs. Fields cookies was a hoax.
Intrigued, I baked a batch and clearly they were not from the same recipe as the shop in Bloomingdale's, but they were very delicious nonetheless.
Two special ingredients set these cookies apart from other recipes:
- Hershey chocolate candy bars
- Oats
While different in flavor and texture than Toll House cookies or cookies from a Mrs. Fields store, I rank them as one of the best chocolate chip cookies I have eaten.
The Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 2 cups flour
- 2 1/2 cups oats, powdered in blender
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 12 oz. bag semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 2 Hershey candy bars (1.5 oz. each), chopped
Cook Time
- Prep time: 30 min
- Cook time: 8 min
- Ready in: 38 min
- Yields: approximately 5 dozen cookies
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.
- Cream butter in a large bowl.
- Add both sugars to butter; mix.
- Add eggs and vanilla extract; stir and set bowl aside.
- In a blender, powder the oats.
- In a smaller bowl combine the flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda.
- Add the powdered oat to the flour bowl; mix.
- Gradually add the flour/oat mixture to the butter and sugar mixture.
- Chop the Hershey chocolate bars.
- Add the chopped candy bar and the chocolate chips to the cookie dough.
- Drop by large spoonfuls onto a cookie sheet.
- Bake approximately 8 minutes.
Step by Step Recipe with Pictures
Click thumbnail to view full-size
About Mrs. Fields
In case you are unaware, there really is a Mrs. Fields behind the worldwide cookie empire. With a lot of drive and determination, Debbi Fields opened her first cookie shop, Mrs. Fields Chocolate Chippery, in 1977 in Palo Alto, California.
Naysayers, including her husband Randy, thought there was no way her cookie-only business model would ever succeed, but Debbi Fields proved them wrong one cookie at a time.
Diversifying beyond solely selling chocolate chip cookies, the business name was changed to simply, Mrs. Fields. In her cookbook, I Love Chocolate, Fields defines the secret to her business success:
I knew I loved making cookies and every time I did, I made people happy. That was my business plan.
Listed by Entrepreneur Magazine as one of the "16 Legendary Women Entrepreneurs," Debbi Fields created a $450-million company that she sold to private investors in 1993. According to mrsfields.com, today there are over 390 locations in the U.S. and more than 80 internationally.
While most people have their own best chocolate chip cookie recipe, one thing is for sure - Debbie Fields is one smart cookie.
Comments
Yummy. I love chocolate chip cookies. Will bookmark this recipe. Nice, attractive layout and background information! Love the pic of Ruby! :-)
Wow the opening picture is Amazing!!! Yum!!! Can't wait to try this soon! Kelley
Your hub is making me hungry
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Thanks Victoria Lynn. I love to make the classic Toll House cookies, but these are just as good, but in a whole different way.
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Thanks Kelley. I'm just hoping my neighbors aren't noticing me taking all these food photos outside lately, but the outdoor light is so good this week; I cannot help myself. I hope you enjoy the cookies if you get the chance to make them.
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CCahill - Just looking at dessert recipes always makes me hungry too.
This is very cool. Not only does the recipe sound delicious, I can almost taste these CC cookies just by looking at the photos. And that pic with Ruby? Award winning quality.Great job!
I have had these and they are amazing. The recipe I have makes hundreds of cookies thought so I am so happy to have found this!
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Rebecca - I wish I could taste just by looking at photos; at least it would be calorie-free. When I got that pic of Ruby salivating over my "photo shoot" I thought "there's my money shot." She's made an "appearance" in a few of my hubs now :) Anyway, thanks for the really nice comment!
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Angela - Amazing is a good way to describe them. This recipe is actually half of the original recipe, but is roughly equivalent to other full cookie recipes.
Holy Cow! Great pics, great story, thoroughly enjoyed it all. Must try those cookies now!
I have said it before and I'll say it again: All hubs with the word "chocolate" in the title get my attention. These cookies look delicious and the pictures are amazing. Awesome hub!
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LetitiaFT - Funny comment - glad you enjoyed it all.
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Made - They really are delicious. I just had one and the flavors of the two chocolates and the oats really stand out to me. I'm glad you liked the photos and the recipe hub. Thanks so much.
Thanks for this great cookie recipe,the dog in the photo likes them so they must be good !
Vote up and more !!!
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kashmir56 - Well, my dog would like nothing more than if I would let her have every cookie I baked, but for her sake she only got a few nibbles of cookie without any chocolate. But on a happy note (for her) she did get some steak for dinner.
Oh now i understand why she is so happy ! I would be happy with eating steak and cookies to !
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That's funny kashmir56. We really don't give her a lot of food that she shouldn't eat, but that never stops her from longing for food like cookies.
Tasty, yummy recipe. I love cookies.
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Thanks Vellur. "Yummy" is a good word to describe these cookies.
Ah, yes! I've heard of this hoax, but in slightly different formats. Hey, I'm happy with the recipe as long as it's good, though, and these cookies look beautiful! Thanks for the fun Hub, beautiful photos, and cool backstory.
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Thanks Simone. I've actually hardly ever met a recipe with chocolate in it that I didn't like! And I really like these cookies, so much so that I had to bring some into work one day last week just to get them out of house so they would quit tempting me.
Great story here and the angle on that first photo really stands out. Great hub all around. I am your loyal fan. Voted up...is there a delicious vote too?
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I wish there was a "delicious" button because I would have used it a ton during June's recipe contest. I'm glad you enjoyed the story and photos. I sort of wish I had one of these chocolate chip cookies right now. Thanks for your really nice comment.
One word: 'awesome'! The fact that there are candy bars in here is great. Yummm
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ChristyWrites - Chopped up candy bar is really what makes this such an awesome chocolate chip cookie recipe.
Sounds like a winning recipe....something I think I will try out with my two little girls who love to make chocolate chip cookies....plus I enjoyed the background on Mrs. Fields....voted up and useful.
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Cogerson - I think your girls will have fun making these chocolate chip cookies with you, especially turning the oats into powder in the blender. Who knows, maybe one of them will become the next Mrs. Fields.
I enjoyed reading this hub and finding out a few chocolate chip cookie secrets. Voted UP...
These cookies look delicious. Almost like Neimann Marcus cookies. I'm going to cook these .... or just eat the pictures. Yum. x
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Eliza - I would definitely suggest baking them. I would make them myself right now if I only I had a Hershey's chocolate bar on-hand.
Great fotos, and if their good enough for your pet dog then nothing more need to be said.. i have tried a hole bunch of cookie reipes and still not found the perfect one for me. Iwill give this one a try. Thanks
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This recipe is definitely worth a try. I absolutely love these cookies. The semi-sweet chocolate chips and chopped Hershey bar mixed in with the ground oats give these cookies a wonderful flavor.
I also love Mrs. Fields' cookies and have tried this recipe before. I agree that it's one of the best...will have to make it again soon now that you've reminded me! Thank you for sharing with us.
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Thanks vespawoolf. I may make them again soon, as well - probably around Christmas-time, perhaps with even some red and green m&m's added.
My one great weakness...chocolate chip cookies. I'm drooling just looking at the pictures. :)
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You're certainly not alone with that one weakness, Bill! There's nothing better than a good homemade chocolate chip cookie.
Hmmm…I may be needing a job, that was Bloomingdale's in Dallas you say?
Seriously, this would make a seriously wonderful gift. Am linking it in my next hub.
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RTalloni - It's a gift I would love to receive! I will have to check out your Hub. Thanks.
These look so good! I love your gift box idea. So pretty.
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Thanks Faith. Trust me, they are good - sort of wish I had a couple right now
What type of butter do you use ? Salted or unsalted ?
Thank you.
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Lilly - I use salted butter.
These look so good! Bet they would be good with white chocolate chips and pecans.
Thanks for sharing this delicious hub "Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe: The Mrs. Fields Cookies Hoax"
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