Gooey Butter Cake

 My mom doesn't cook. She didn't make meals from scratch when we were kids. She did always bring dessert to a potluck, party or family event and it was normally gooey butter cake. I think the recipe came from her friend - I seem to remember that it was brought to Courtney's baptism party. Wherever it came from, this recipe has been in our family longer than the Paula Deen version has been popular. I don't know why it's necessary that you know that, but it is.

That said, the Paula Deen recipe is exactly the same as my mom's. Also, let's talk about how the Paula Deen recipe says 6-8 servings. I LOVE sweets and can eat a box of oreo cookies in 15 seconds, but I've never seen anyone cut a 9x13" pan into 6 pieces! This is a very rich dessert and I normally cut these bars into small pieces. For this batch I cut them into about 40 pieces. I decided to make this recipe even though it requires some baking because 1) the bake temperature is the same as my bread and I needed to bake bread and 2) I needed cream cheese for another recipe and decided to just get more and make this too.

This is an incredible dessert and is always gone very quickly. It's easy to make and looks like you spent a lot more time than you did!

Gooey Butter Cake
1 package of yellow cake mix (Betty Crocker's gluten free variety is perfectly fine!)
1 egg
8 tablespoons of melted butter

8 ounces of softened cream cheese
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
8 tablespoons of melted/softened butter
16 ounces of powdered sugar

Mix the cake mix, egg, and 8 tablespoons of butter together until fully combined. Press into the bottom of a greased 9x13" pan. I use a glass casserole dish.

Beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add final 4 ingredients and continue beating. This mixture should be light and fluffy.

Spread over the cake mixture and bake at 350 for 40-50 minutes or until edges are lightly brown but center is still gooey. Don't slice until completely cool. Eat quickly and share with friends!