Gooey butter cake is a St. Louis phenomenon that the entire country has taken by storm. And with that chewy bite and lush cream cheesy flavor, it’s no surprise! Today we’re tweaking the usual gooey butter cake recipe to make colorful, bite-sized gooey butter cookies instead!
Let’s face it, gooey butter cake is incredible, but it’s not pretty. It’s like the warm-hearted “teddy bear” types in high school. The “just friends” guy that 16 year-old girls can’t get enough of but would never consider dating. Lemon gooey butter cookies, on the other hand, have a fun playful flair with neon chocolate dip and sprinkles that make them both sprinkliciously charming AND delicious! These aren’t your average cake mix cookies.
Lemon gooey butter cookies have a lot of things going for them. They’re the high school ____ for “most likely to succeed.”
- 5 minute prep time
- 6 ingredients
- Coloriffic, I mean look at those cookies!
- Easy. Your kids can make these!
- Sinfully scrumptious.
Let’s get to it!
- 1-15.25 oz. box yellow cake mix
- 8 oz. cream cheese, at room temp.
- ½ cup butter, at room temp.
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- zest of 1 lemon
- ~1 cup powdered sugar
- Combine cream cheese, butter, egg, lemon zest & lemon juice in a medium bowl and mix until fluffy. Stir in cake mix just until smooth.
- Refrigerate 30-45 minutes until it's a bit stiff and easier to work with.
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Pour powdered sugar into a small bowl.
- Using tablespoons or a cookie scoop dish out small walnut-sized dough balls. Roll each ball in powdered sugar to coat and place on a greased cookie sheet.
- Bake 12 minutes. Allow to cool 5 minutes on cookie sheet before transferring to a cooling rack.
- Over a double boiler gently melt chocolate. Alternatively, you can melt chocolate in the microwave using 50% power and nuking in 15 second intervals, stirring between. Because it's much more likely the chocolate may seize, I highly recommend using a double boiler.
- Stir in desired coloring and dip cookies.
- Place on a cooling rack or cookie sheet lined with wax paper and top with sprinkles. Allow to cool completely before storing in an airtight container.
I came across this recipe for gooey butter cookies this morning and once I saw it, I HAD to make them ASAP. That was this morning. It’s now 2:30pm. I don’t waste time serving up dessert, do I? You will notice that I’ve altered Erin’s original recipe a tad. First of all, these are lemon gooey butter cookies. Sure, I could’ve used a lemon cake mix, but I already had yellow mix on hand. Secondly, I very rarely use convenience mixes for baking anyway, so it felt more “natural” to use a fresh lemon from the tree backyard to make up for the not-so-natural ingredients in the mix. Whatever the case, you definitely could use a lemon cake mix and they would still turn out spectacular! Just don’t skip the sprinkles!
As if these didn’t sound delicious enough, you had to go and take gorgeous pictures of them to make me want them even more!!! Yummy!
Oh my goodness these look fun and delicious!
I love the sprinkles… because EVERYTHING is better with sprinkles.
Wishing you a lovely day.
xoxo
Love, love, love how simple these are to whip up. So pretty, too!
This is the second lemon dessert that I’ve seen today and it is making me hungry for something lemony! This look amazing!
I know what you mean, Mary! I saw the most fantastic lemon cake recipe yesterday that still has me drooling! Hope you give the gooey butter cookies a try.
These look yummy and so fun!
Thanks so much, Gio! We really enjoyed making a mess decorating them and of course, gobbling them down was the best part.
These look amazing! And right before I’m about to go grocery shopping…uh oh.
Lovely outcome! <3 What captured my attention the most is the "about the blogger" section. Congratulations on your coming bag of sweets! 🙂
Oh, wow, these look AMAZING. I’m sure my girls would love to make them.
COOOKIES!!!! Betcha i could make ’em gluten-free as well 😀
These look great, love the colors. Great for back to school treats
Marissa
You’re right, cookies are always a welcome addition to packed lunches, aren’t they? Thanks for taking a moment to pop over today, Marissa.
Ooey gooey yummy looking! Pinning, and then I’ll find an egg substitution that is suitable!
Cookies are my favorite food group. 🙂 These would be fun to make with the grands. They love sprinkles!
Pamela, I’m stuck now… Are cookies my favorite food group or is it ice cream? Hope you give the gooey butter cookies a whirl soon. It won’t just be the grandkids enjoying them, promise!
I love gooey butter cookies. These are so cute too!
The colors are SO PRETTY! I’ve never had these cookies! Now I’m definitely going to have to make some! YUM!
Oh yummy, love the lemon and the colorful sprinkles!!! I want one! 🙂
Cathy
This recipe looks delicious! As usual, the pictures are stunning! May have to try this recipe this week with the family!
YUMMY! These look so good! I’ve been making cupcakes & icing the past couple days – experimenting on the best recipe for a baby shower I’m doing in a few days! It’s so fun to bake, but the cleanup is always a killer!
You’re right, Danielle, cleaning up cupcake baking messes is no fun. We thankfully have hot water in this house, which is uncommon here in Costa Rica. Imagine trying to wash up the buttery frosting from the bowls and piping bags without it. Hope you try the cookies soon and find a stellar recipe for the baby shower. I wouldn’t mind taste testing for ya!
I love all things colorful + jelly + sprinkles, so I love this post and your blog!! Great recipe, thanks for sharing
Thanks so much, Sam! Sprinkles really work magic to make ordinary cookies “pop.” Hope you try them soon.
These sound like the perfect afternoon snack! I could go for a plateful right about now.
I am not a cream cheese person. Is there a substitute for cream cheese in this recipe.
Hmm, I don’t know about subbing out the cream cheese. Maybe you’d like a more traditional lemon cookie recipe instead? Try these with lemon instead of orange!