These Gooey Butter Cookies Are Impossible to Resist

You make some recipes because they're easy. Then there are recipes you make because one bite takes you right back to a specific moment. For me, these gooey butter cookies are both.

These scrumptious delights are soft in the middle, lightly crisp around the edges, and covered in powdered sugar. They look fancy, but they start with a box of cake mix and come together without much fuss.

Where This Gooey Butter Cookie Recipe Came From

About 10 years ago, my husband and I went to a late movie and, walking back to the car, a smell stopped me in my tracks.

It was sweet, warm, buttery, and coming from Macklin’s Café, a cupcake bakery nearby. We walked in thinking we might grab a cupcake, but the cookies in the case caught our attention instead.

The bakery offered us a sample, and that was it. I'm not usually someone who even likes dessert, but I walked out with a dozen of those cookies that night.

A few days later, I went back and talked the person behind the counter into sharing the recipe. The bakery has since closed, but this little recipe has stayed in my kitchen.

Why Gooey Butter Cookies Are So Soft and Sweet

Gooey butter cookies get their soft, rich texture from cream cheese and butter. The yellow cake mix keeps the recipe simple, while the powdered sugar gives each cookie that pretty crackled top.

Get our free mobile app

They're perfect for a school event, a potluck, a weekend at home, or one of those days when you want to bake something good without spending hours in the kitchen. Similar versions of gooey butter cookies use the same simple mix of cream cheese, butter, cake mix, and powdered sugar. Allrecipes also has a version with those classic ingredients.

Gooey Butter Cookies Ingredients

Ingredients

• 1 package, 8 ounces, cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 egg
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 box yellow cake mix, about 15 to 18 ounces
• 1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar

How to Make Gooey Butter Cookies

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium bowl, cream together the softened cream cheese and butter until smooth. Stir in the egg and vanilla extract.

Add the dry cake mix and stir until everything is well combined. The dough will be thick.

Roll the dough into 1 inch balls, then roll each one in confectioners’ sugar. Place the cookie dough balls about an inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake for 10 to 13 minutes. The cookies should still be soft when they come out of the oven.

Let them cool for a couple of minutes on the cookie sheet, then move them to a wire rack. Try to let them cool before sneaking one. I never seem to manage that part.