How Neiman Marcus Bars Got Their Name

Fashion has always had an air of mystery, so why shouldn't a dessert named after one of fashion's greatest stalwarts, Neiman Marcus? Part cookie and part cake, the Neiman Marcus bar stirs up more questions than answers. Some say it is a variation of the St. Louis gooey butter bar. Or perhaps they are one and the same. Even the origin of the name Neiman Marcus bar is up for debate.

Were they ever served or sold at Neiman Marcus? Are they the result of an exclusive store recipe attached to a hefty price tag? Or are they named because they are as rich as those who shop in the venerable Dallas-based department store?

The last theory is the most likely. Based on its website, Neiman Marcus does not sell its own brand of bars or cookies or anything resembling the bars, even under another brand name. The story of Neiman Marcus bars has been conflated with an infamous tale surrounding its chocolate chip cookies. According to that story, a woman asked Neiman Marcus for its recipe and was told it would cost either "five" or "two-fifty," depending on the storyteller. The woman, who didn't realize she had signed her credit card for $500 or $250, again depending on the storyteller, is so incensed she shares the recipe with everyone she knows. The department store has debunked the story and once posted its chocolate chip cookie recipe on its website.

Based on most recipes circulating the internet and social media, the Neiman Marcus bar is similar to the St. Louis gooey butter bar. The Neiman Marcus bar starts with a yellow cake mix. Some more inventive bakers use a lemon or spiced cake mix. Many recipes for the gooey butter bar (sometimes called gooey cake or the ooey gooey butter bar) also start with yellow cake mix, but some bakers swear it isn't St. Louis gooey butter cake unless you start with flour and sometimes even a yeasted dough.

The other key ingredient to both the Neiman Marcus and gooey butter bars is, as you may have guessed, butter. A full stick of butter gives the dessert, no matter what its name is, its essential gooiness. Also contributing to the richness that associates these bars with the upscale store are cream cheese, butter, and eggs. Add vanilla or vanilla extract for a little flavor, and dust the whole cake with powdered sugar after baking. You'll also find recipes that insist on adding chocolate chips or coconut to make it a true Neiman Marcus bar.

Again, both gooey bars and Neiman Marcus bars are cooked in the same type of rectangular pan you would use for brownies or blondies. By any name, the result is a delight that is crisp on the edges, flat and sticky in the center, and yummy all over.

They say that fashion is fickle, and so are the stories around the gooey bar's origins. Legend has it that St. Louis' gooey butter cake was created by accident during the Great Depression. The simplest and most oft-told take on the story is that a baker added too much sugar, butter, or shortening — or all three — to a standard yellow cake, ending up with the gooey delight that is now one of the midwestern city's favorite ways to satisfy a sweet tooth.

Like many fashion icons, we may never know the answer to all of the Neiman Marcus bar's secrets. But, just like a cashmere sweater, the bars will always be both timeless and classic.