Urban Legend Zeitgeist: Neiman Marcus $250 Cookie Recipe

Synopsis	Shopper cheated when buying a cookie recipe at Neiman Marcus (sometimes Mrs. Fields and other retailers) gets revenge by spreading the recipe via email. See the story here.
Is it true?	No.
Why?	It's a classic urban legend.
When?	The Neiman Marcus version of the story began circulating in the 1990s. Other versions date back to the 1940s.
Comments	The alt.folklore.urban FAQ also describes the legend: F. Cook cheated into buying Mrs Fields' recipe, gets revenge by spreading it. ["The Mrs. Fields Cookie Recipe" in CBA. This is probably a descendant of the "Red Velvet Cake" UL in TVH. Another version involves Neiman-Marcus and many other noted retail establishments.] [Note: 'F.' in the FAQ's parlance means the story is false.]
See also	Folklorist Jan Harold Brunvand discusses the rumors in: The Vanishing Hitchhiker (1981) Curses! Broiled Again (1989) Rebuttals: See Neiman Marcus's rebuttal of the story. Web references: AFU & Urban Legends Archive: "Two Fifty" "The Neiman Marcus Cookie Recipe " from About.com "(Costs a) Fortune Cookie" from the Urban Legends Reference Pages

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