If you live in St. Louis, visit St. Louis, or just know someone from St. Louis, then you’ve probably tasted gooey butter cake. It was always my brother-in-law’s favorite dessert (naturally, he was from St. Louis). But, I didn’t really know anything about gooey butter cake until I moved to St. Louis in 2012.

Walk into any local bakery or grocery store in St. Louis and you’ll find squares of this soft-centered, crisp-edged dessert. It’s hard not to know exactly what gooey butter cake is once you move here. Gooey butter cake and St. Louis just go together.

The legend goes that the baker was trying to make a regular cake, but made a mistake and reversed the proportions of flour and butter. This resulted in a moist pudding-like texture. A popular gooey butter cake version is made with cream cheese and yellow cake mix. The bottom layer has cake mix and the top layer has cream cheese, and the entire thing is dusted with powdered sugar. It’s then cut into squares and served like a brownie.

So naturally, I will make a cookie version for this St. Louis dessert. Cookies are my jam. I don’t know what it is about a cookie. It’s easy to pick up, usually easy to whip up, and always a crowd pleaser. Cookies just make me happy.

The yellow cake mix is a welcomed short cut for these cookies too, making them more simple to make. I am a big fan of cake mix cookies. Something about using a cake mix, just makes it feel easier. The gooey butter cake in these cookies is similar to the bar dessert - super moist and chewy, making these pretty irresistible.

These gooey butter cake cookies are soft, sweet, and a St. Louisan’s dream. If you make them, be sure to tag me @urban.apron so I can see them!

Gooey Butter Cake Cookies

Ingredients:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
1 egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 box of yellow cake mix
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar (powdered sugar)

Instructions:

Cream together the butter and cream cheese until fully combined.
Beat in the egg and vanilla extract. Add in the dry cake mix, slowly, until fully incorporated.
Chill dough in the refrigerator for 30 minutes or until the dough isn’t too sticky to roll into balls.
While the dough is chilling, line a baking sheet with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Roll the dough into tablespoon-sized balls. Roll the balls in the powdered sugar. Place dough balls on the baking sheet and bake for about 12 minutes. Take out the cookies and sprinkle each with additional powdered sugar. Let cookies cool on the baking sheet before removing to a wire rack.
Serve immediately or store in air-tight container for the week. These cookies will also freeze for up to 3 months.

Hope you enjoy! And cheers to a classic St. Louis dessert, with a twist!