Gooey Butter Cookies Recipe (2024)

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These Gooey Butter cookies are made with a yellow cake mix, butter, cream cheese, and a few additional ingredients. They are so gooey, chewy, and moist – it’s impossible to resist them!

When you need a quick and easy cookie recipe, cake mix cookies are the way to go! They’re so convenient, and you can easily switch up the flavors depending on the mix—like these Lemon Cookies, or Funfetti Cookies!

made with cake mix – so easy!

We love making cookies with the kids, and today’s recipe for Ooey Gooey Butter Cookies (aka Butter Cookies) are a family-favorite. They are made with cake mix, butter and cream cheese and are so soft and moist that I have yet to meet someone who didn’t like them.

If you’re looking for a quick cookie recipe that will be a hit – this is your treat (they’re just as good as our Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies and Sugar Cookies)! This cookie is pretty much half a cookie and half a cupcake, and you really can’t go wrong with that. 😉

Another reason why I LOVE this recipe is because it can be easily changed up. Based on whatever cake mix you use, you can change the flavor up. You can also add candy and sprinkles on top or in the cookies which can take them to a whole new level.

For this specific recipe, we always use a yellow cake mix, and just sprinkle powdered sugar on top right when they come out of the oven. The powdered sugar melts and lightly frosts the top of the cookie.

Gooey Butter Cookies Recipe (2)

Making Yellow Cake Mix Cookies

We love simple cookies and love that these yellow cake mix cookies are just that.

To make them, beat butter, vanilla, egg and cream cheese until fluffy. Add the cake mix and mix until combined.

Chill for 30 minutes. Once chilled, roll into 1 – 1 1/2 inch balls and roll in a bowl of powdered sugar. Place on cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes. Once out, sift more powdered sugar on top if desired.

Place on wax paper to cool. Before cooling and right when you take the cookies out, that is the perfect time to add candy on top. We’ve added Hershey’s kisses when we’ve made gooey butter cookies with chocolate cake mix, and they are amazing!

Gooey Butter Cookies Recipe (3)

Flavor variations

The possibilities are endless when it comes to the different kinds of gooey butter cookies you can make. This is partially because Betty Crocker and Pillsbury and Duncan Hines are constantly releasing new cake mixes, which means there are more recipes to try.

Here are some of the other recipes we’ve tried using the same recipe but with a different cake mix, and adding a few toppings.

  • Gooey Chocolate Rolo Butter Cookies –Chocolate Cake Mix with a Rolo inside
  • Gooey Monster Cookies –Dyed cake mix with candy eyeballs on top – perfect for Halloween!
  • Butter Pumpkin Cookies –Pumpkin Cookies using pumpkin cake mix, which is a seasonal product.
  • Pink and Blue Velvet Butter Cookies – used making Pink and Blue velvet cake mixes.
Gooey Butter Cookies Recipe (4)

Additional Tips

Storing.Once cool, place ooey gooey butter cookies into an air-tight container and place on the counter for up to 3 days. They should take soft during that time period and although they have butter and cream cheese, they do not need to be refrigerated.

Can you make a cake version of these cookies?I’m so glad you asked! You can, and it’s one of our favorites. We have a recipe for Gooey Butter Cake which uses similar ingredients and makes a delicious cake/bar version of these cookies. Check it out HERE.

Gooey Butter Cookies Recipe (5)

For more favorite cookies, check out:

  • Chocolate Chip Cookies
  • No Bake Cookies
  • Peanut Butter Cookies
  • Snickerdoodles
  • Cream Cheese Cookies
  • Butter Cookies

Gooey Butter Cookies Recipe (6)

Gooey Butter Cookies Recipe (7)

Gooey Butter Cookies Recipe

By: Lil’ Luna

Whether you call them butter cookies or cake mix cookies, you know they are ultra yummy! These cookies are made with a yellow cake mix, butter, cream cheese, and a few additional ingredients. They are so gooey, chewy, and moist – it's impossible to resist them!

Servings: 24 cookies

Prep: 5 minutes mins

Cook: 10 minutes mins

Chill time: 30 minutes mins

Total: 45 minutes mins

Ingredients

  • 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese softened
  • ½ cup unsalted butter softened
  • 1 egg
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 (15.25-ounce) box yellow cake mix
  • 1 cup powdered sugar plus more for dusting

Instructions

  • In a large bowl, beat cream cheese, butter, egg and vanilla with a hand mixer until fluffy.

  • Mix in cake mix until combined, and chill for 30 minutes.

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

  • Place powdered sugar in a bowl. Scoop out and roll dough into 1½-inch balls and roll in powdered sugar until well coated. Place onto a lightly greased cookie sheet.

  • Bake for 10–12 minutes.

  • Let cookies sit on the cookie sheet for a few minutes, then remove to a rack to cool.

  • Sift more powdered sugar on top, if desired.

Video

Notes

Make Ahead: Store cookies in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3–4 days.

Variations: Change this up by using your favorite cake mix and adding your own
embellishments. A few of our favorite combos include:
o Chocolate Rolo Cake Mix Cookies: Chocolate cake mix with a Rolo candy enclosed in each dough ball
o Red Velvet Cake Mix Cookies: Red velvet cake mix with white chocolate chips
o Funfetti Cake Mix Cookies: Funfetti cake mix with extra sprinkles

Nutrition

Serving: 1cookie, Calories: 57kcal, Carbohydrates: 5g, Protein: 0.3g, Fat: 4g, Saturated Fat: 2g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 1g, Trans Fat: 0.2g, Cholesterol: 17mg, Sodium: 4mg, Potassium: 4mg, Sugar: 5g, Vitamin A: 129IU, Calcium: 2mg, Iron: 0.04mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Making this recipe? Tag us!

Share it with us on Instagram using the hashtag #lilluna, so we can see what you’re creating in the kitchen!

Categorized as: American Recipes, Cookies, Cuisines, Desserts, Recipes

About Kristyn

My name is Kristyn and I’m the mom of SIX stinkin’ cute kids and the wife to my smokin’ hot hubby, Lo. My mom’s maiden name is Luna, and I’m one of the many crafty “Lil’ Lunas” in the fam. On this site I like to share all things creative - from recipes to home decor to gifts and home decor ideas. Welcome!

More About Kristyn

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Gooey Butter Cookies Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is gooey butter made of? ›

Gooey butter cake is a type of cake traditionally made in St. Louis, Missouri. It is a flat and dense cake made with wheat cake flour, butter, sugar, and eggs, typically near an inch tall, and dusted with powdered sugar.

Should my cookies be gooey in the middle? ›

Fully cooked cookies should have a slightly crisp edge with a soft and chewy centre. If the cookie tastes raw or doughy, it needs more time in the oven. Flavour development: Cookies often develop more flavour as they cool down. If the taste is slightly lacking, allow them to cool entirely before finalising.

What happens if cookies are too buttery? ›

Classic signs of a cookie with too much butter include crispy-bordering-on-burnt edges, a greasy surface, an excessively brittle texture, and a predominantly buttery flavor that overpowers the other caramel and chocolate notes.

Where did gooey butter cookies originate? ›

Where did gooey butter cookies come from? Gooey butter cookies are the cookie form of gooey butter cake, which originated in St. Louis. The creation of the cake itself was actually an accident, but it was so delicious that it became a hit!

Why is gooey butter cake so good? ›

Made of little else but flour, sugar, butter, eggs, and corn syrup, it's immediately satisfying and luxurious to eat. The result is chewy, rich, and creamy, almost like a vanilla pudding that's been nestled into a blondie. In St. Louis gooey butter cake is everywhere.

Does gooey butter need to be refrigerated? ›

The cake can be stored at room temperature for 2- 3 days. Be sure to store it in an airtight container or use aluminum foil or plastic wrap to help keep them from drying out. You can also store it in the refrigerator for 4-5 days and serve it chilled but it won't be as gooey.

What makes a cookie gooey? ›

If you enjoy your cookies soft and chewy, chances are likely the recipe contains a common ingredient that serves a very specific purpose. No, it's not granulated sugar, nor the butter. It's not the egg, all-purpose flour, or even the vanilla extract. The simple, yet oh-so-necessary component is cornstarch.

Why aren't my cookies gooey? ›

Eggs bind the ingredients and make for moist, chewy cookies. Adding too many eggs can result in gummy, cake-like cookies. Adding too few eggs can result in dry, crumbly cookies. Beat each one in separately and thoroughly.

How do you keep cookies gooey? ›

Keep Them Sealed

The key to keeping cookies fresh and soft is to seal them in an airtight container, like a resealable freezer bag. And here's a nifty little trick: add a piece of bread to the bag.

What happens if you use melted butter instead of softened for cookies? ›

In cookies, softened butter will result in a cakier and airier cookie than using melted butter. This is due to the fact that softened butter will create air bubbles that expand in the oven during baking. Melted butter will make your cookies delightfully dense on the inside and crisp on the edges.

What does an extra egg yolk do in cookies? ›

A cookie made with extra egg yolk (or, in this case, only egg yolk), will be lighter and chewier than a cookie made with whole eggs. The cookies will also have a richer flavor thanks to the added fat in egg yolk.

Can you use melted butter instead of softened butter? ›

Softened butter and melted butter are not the same. Using melted butter will change the texture of whatever you're baking. If you only want the butter to soften for spreading, microwave it on the Defrost setting (30%) in 5-second increments until it's softened as desired.

What are the oldest cookies in the world? ›

Pizzelles are the oldest known cookie and originated in the mid-section of Italy. They were made many years ago for the “Festival of the Snakes” also known as the “Feast Day of San Domenico” in the village of Colcullo in the Italian region of Abruzzo.

What dessert is St. Louis known for? ›

Nothing compares to gooey butter cake. Rich, moist and tender, it's arguably the best dessert in St. Louis.

What were cookies called in the 1800s? ›

The first American cookies that showed up in cook books had creative names like Jumbles, Plunkets and Cry Babies which gave no clue to what was inside the cookie. As the expansion of technology grew in the United States, new ingredients started to show up in cookie recipes.

What is gooey butter cake made of? ›

Ingredients include yellow cake mix, softened cream cheese and powdered sugar. This gooey butter cake recipe from Paula Deen is an easy-to-make dessert. Ingredients include yellow cake mix, softened cream cheese and powdered sugar.

Why is it called gooey butter cake? ›

With way more butter than flour in the recipe, the resulting cake was a buttery blob that spread out all over the pan. Unwilling to it toss out and lose the revenue, Hoffman instead named it "gooey butter cake." People loved it, so Hoffman continued to recreate this "mistake," and soon bakeries all over St.

What is gooey butter cake from White Castle? ›

Well, we took this classic sweet yellow cake, rich cream cheese, butter and a dash of vanilla flavor and put it On-A-Stick! Now this perfect-sized delight is only gooey in your mouth, and sticky fingers are a thing of the past.

What are the white chunks in melted butter? ›

So when you melt butter you will see that the milk solids (usually a white sediment) tend to settle towards the bottom of the saucepan and the golden coloured butterfat sits on top of it. The water will tend to sink with the milk solids though some will also evaporate if the butter is brought up to boiling point.

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