Have you ever had a dessert that you can't stop thinking about? For me, it's gooey butter cookies. I first discovered them in college when my roommate's mom sent her a care package that included a slightly-smooshed bag of homemade gooey butter cookies. Despite having grown up in the Midwest, I had never heard of the cookies before. I was hooked at first bite. They don't look like much, but they're an incredibly delicious combination of cream cheese, butter, and cake mix.
Gooey butter cookies originated in St. Louis as a take on classic Gooey Butter Cake. Like the cake, these butter cookies are dense with a fudge-like consistency. The powdered sugar-rolled shell becomes crisp when baked and serves as the perfect contrast for the soft interior. Our Test Kitchen tested and perfected the recipe, and it's truly the best version of the classic I've ever had.
The best part? Since the dough starts with a cake mix, the recipe is very easy to make. Need a pick-me-up after a long day of work? Make gooey butter cookies. Heading to a last-minute potluck? Bring gooey butter cookies. Craving a treat at 3 p.m. every single day? Whip up gooey butter cookies. They'll always be a hit. Here's how to make my favorite cookie recipe.
Gooey Butter Cookie Ingredients
These cookies are so much more than the humble assortment of ingredients you'll need to make them.
- Cream Cheese: It's super important to let your cream cheese soften before you start mixing up the cookie dough. Once soft, it will mix into the other ingredients easily, ensuring your batter is even and smooth.
- Butter: It wouldn't be a gooey butter cookie recipe without butter! You'll need a stick that's been softened at room temperature.
- Egg: You may be sensing a theme here, but make sure your eggs are room temperature before adding the the mix. Like the cream cheese and butter, room temperature eggs will mix better with the other ingredients.
- Extracts: After testing, we found our favorite flavor blend was a combination of vanilla and almond extracts. If you'd prefer one or the other, that's totally fine.
- Cake Mix: You'll need a box of yellow cake mix. We don't recommend swapping in another style.
- Powdered Sugar: This is what you'll roll the scoops of cookie dough in before baking.
How to Store Gooey Butter Cookies
If you have leftover cookies, store them in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days.
Ingredients
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8 ounces cream cheese, softened
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1/2 cup butter, softened
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1 large egg, room temperature
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1 teaspoon vanilla extract
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1/4 teaspoon almond extract
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1 (2-layer) package yellow cake mix
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3/4 cup powdered sugar
Directions
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Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Place powdered sugar into a shallow bowl.
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Beat cream cheese and butter with an electric mixer in a medium bowl until creamy. Beat in egg and extracts. Add cake mix and beat until combined.
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Roll dough into 1-inch balls and coat with powdered sugar. Place 1 inch apart onto ungreased cookie sheets.
Test Kitchen Tip: If your cookie dough is too soft or sticky to handle, chill for 15 to 30 minutes until firm before shaping.
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Bake until set, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from the oven and transfer to wire racks to cool. If desired, dust with additional powdered sugar before serving.
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
| 83 | Calories |
| 4g | Fat |
| 11g | Carbs |
| 1g | Protein |
| Nutrition Facts | |
|---|---|
| Servings Per Recipe 48 | |
| Calories 82.8 | |
| % Daily Value * | |
| Total Fat 4g | 5% |
| Saturated Fat 2.4g | 12% |
| Cholesterol 13.7mg | 5% |
| Sodium 111mg | 5% |
| Total Carbohydrate 10.9g | 4% |
| Dietary Fiber 0.1g | 0% |
| Total Sugars 6.6g | |
| Protein 0.8g | 2% |
| Vitamin D 0mcg | 0% |
| Vitamin C 0mg | 0% |
| Calcium 28.8mg | 2% |
| Iron 0.3mg | 1% |
| Potassium 13.6mg | 0% |
| Fatty acids, total trans 0.1g | |
| Vitamin D 0.9IU | |
| Alanine 0g | |
| Arginine 0g | |
| Ash 0.5g | |
| Aspartic acid 0.1g | |
| Caffeine 0mg | |
| Carotene, alpha 0mcg | |
| Choline, total 5.3mg | |
| Copper, Cu 0mg | |
| Cystine 0g | |
| Energy 346.4kJ | |
| Fluoride, F 0.1mcg | |
| Folate, total 8.4mcg | |
| Glutamic acid 0.2g | |
| Glycine 0g | |
| Histidine 0g | |
| Isoleucine 0g | |
| Leucine 0.1g | |
| Lysine 0.1g | |
| Methionine 0g | |
| Magnesium, Mg 1.7mg | |
| Manganese, Mn 0mg | |
| Niacin 0.3mg | |
| Phosphorus, P 41.5mg | |
| Pantothenic acid 0.1mg | |
| Phenylalanine 0g | |
| Proline 0.1g | |
| Retinol 31.8mcg | |
| Selenium, Se 1.1mcg | |
| Serine 0.1g | |
| Starch 0g | |
| Theobromine 0mg | |
| Threonine 0g | |
| Vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol) 0.2mg | |
| Tryptophan 0g | |
| Tyrosine 0g | |
| Valine 0.1g | |
| Vitamin A, IU 117.3IU | |
| Vitamin A, RAE 32.4mcg | |
| Vitamin B-12 0mcg | |
| Vitamin B-6 0mg | |
| Vitamin K (phylloquinone) 0.6mcg | |
| Water 4.5g | |
| Zinc, Zn 0.1mg | |
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
