Gooey Butter Cookies

Michael and I had friends over a few weeks ago who were home for the weekend. Gooey butter cake is a St. Louis speciality, so I decided to make the cookies as a reminder of home. A bit time consuming to make, only because you have to make the dough and let it chill for a few hours before rolling into balls, but otherwise easy to make. They were perfectly soft and Michael had to force himself to stay away from them otherwise he'd have eaten them all. I thought they tasted a bit too much like the cake mix. I'll make them again, however, and maybe next time try another flavor mix. (Note that the original recipe is for chocolate cookies).



Gooey Butter Cookies
Source: Paula Deen, Food Network.com
Yield: 2-3 dozen cookies

1 (8-ounce) brick cream cheese, room temperature
1 stick butter, at room temperature
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 (18-ounce) box moist yellow cake mix
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Preheat oven to 350.

In a large bowl with an electric mixer, cream the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Beat in the egg. Then beat in the vanilla extract. Beat in the cake mix. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours to firm up so that you can roll the batter into balls. Roll the chilled batter into tablespoon sized balls and then roll them in confectioner's sugar. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet, 2 inches apart. Bake 12 minutes. The cookies will remain soft and "gooey." Cool completely and sprinkle with more confectioners' sugar, if desired.