Gooey Butter Bars

These butter bars are a family favorite.  They are sweet, very sweet and very rich.  Most people can’t eat a lot of them, in fact many times I can only eat a bite or two.  My family thinks I haven’t trained hard enough, most of them are able to gobble down several.  Cut them small unless, like my family, your family has been in training.

This is one of the recipes from my cookie cookbook, Everything Cookies and Brownies. This is perfect for potlucks and bake sales and just when you want to do something easy.

Basically, you can add anything to the cream cheese layer that sounds good:

• Coconut
• Dried cranberries
• Grated chocolate
• Pineapple
• Grated lemon rind

Or leave it plain, it is just that good.  No real tricky techniques involved here just be sure not to overbake.

You can see the layers.  The top is rich, gooey, and…something of the texture of chess pie.  The bottom is cakey/crumbly.  If you refrigerate  overnight you will have a slightly firmer texture.  It is kind of like warm chocolate chip cookies; some people just prefer them gooey.

Gooey Butter Bars

Makes 13x 9 inch pan

• 1 box yellow butter cake mix
• 1 egg
• 1 stick unsalted butter, melted
• 1 tsp vanilla, almond, coconut, or other flavor
• 8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 lb of confectioner’s sugar
• 1 stick unsalted butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 eggs

1. Mix the egg, the cake mix, first flavoring, and the first stick of melted butter in a bowl.  Press mixture in the bottom of a buttered 13x 9 inch baking pan.
2. Beat cream cheese, vanilla, confectioners, and eggs in a separate bowl.
3. With mixer running add remaining melted butter. Mix until well blended.
4. Pour cream cheese mixture over the cake base
5. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes.
6. Cool slightly before cutting.

images:marye audet (c) 2009