Easy Paula Deen Gooey Butter Cookies Recipe: Melt-in-Your-Mouth Magic

Gooey butter cookies dance between decadence and comfort, offering a melt-in-your-mouth experience that transforms ordinary baking into something magical.

Soft, pillowy textures beckon from the first glimpse, promising a sweet indulgence that defies simple dessert expectations.

These delightful treats blend rich cream cheese with subtle sweetness, creating a distinctive texture that surprises and delights.

Bakers of all skill levels can master this straightforward recipe, which requires minimal ingredients and maximum enjoyment.

Powdered sugar transforms ordinary cookies into elegant morsels, dusting each bite with a delicate, cloud-like finish.

Comfort and nostalgia merge in these irresistible cookies, connecting generations through a shared love of simple, decadent pleasures: bring your appetite and prepare to be amazed.

Why Paula Deen’s Gooey Butter Cookies Are Simply Irresistible

• Indulge in Effortless Decadence: These gooey butter cookies require minimal baking skills, making them perfect for novice bakers seeking a foolproof dessert that delivers maximum flavor with minimal effort.
• Melt-in-Your-Mouth Texture Magic: The combination of cream cheese, butter, and cake mix creates an incredibly soft, rich cookie that literally dissolves on your tongue with a luxurious, velvety smoothness that's utterly irresistible.
• Quick Crowd-Pleaser Potential: With just 22 minutes of active preparation time and a simple two-hour chilling period, these cookies transform basic ingredients into a spectacular treat that's guaranteed to impress family and friends at gatherings, potlucks, or casual dessert moments.
• Versatile Sweet Comfort: The recipe offers flexible serving options – enjoy them warm and gooey straight from the oven or cool them completely for a more structured cookie that still maintains its delightful soft center and powdery sugar coating.

Ingredients for Paula Deen’s Gooey Butter Cookies

• Cream Cheese: Soft and creamy base that adds richness and tang to the cookie texture.
• Butter: Provides essential fat and helps create a smooth, rich cookie dough.
• Egg: Binds ingredients together and adds structure to the cookies.
• Vanilla Extract: Enhances overall flavor with warm, sweet notes.

• Cake Mix: Convenient base that provides sweetness and helps create the signature gooey texture.
• Confectioner's Sugar: Adds sweetness and creates a delicate, powdery coating on the cookies.

• Confectioner's Sugar (Additional): Optional dusting that provides extra sweetness and a classic powdered look.

How to Make Paula Deen’s Gooey Butter Cookies

Step 1: Preheat The Oven

Set your oven to 350°F (175°C) and prepare a baking sheet.

Step 2: Mix Cream Cheese And Butter

In a large mixing bowl, use an electric mixer to blend cream cheese and butter until they become smooth and creamy.

Step 3: Add Egg And Vanilla

Gently mix in the egg until fully incorporated, then add vanilla extract and blend thoroughly.

Step 4: Combine Cake Mix

Gradually add cake mix into the wet ingredients, mixing until you create a uniform dough consistency.

Step 5: Chill The Dough

Cover the cookie dough and refrigerate for 2 hours. This helps the dough become firmer and easier to handle.

Step 6: Shape Cookie Balls

• Confectioner's sugar

Step 7: Arrange And Bake

Place cookie balls on an ungreased baking sheet, spacing them 2 inches apart. Bake for 12 minutes, keeping them soft and gooey.

Step 8: Cool And Garnish

Transfer cookies to a wire rack and let them cool completely. Optional: Dust with additional confectioner’s sugar for extra sweetness.

Pro Tips for Paula Deen’s Gooey Butter Cookies

• Prevent Crumbling Carefully: Transfer cookies only after they've completely cooled on the baking sheet to maintain their delicate structure.
• Master Soft Texture Technique: Bake exactly 12 minutes, allowing cookies to seem slightly underbaked since they'll continue setting while cooling.
• Create Powdery Perfection: Generously roll each dough ball in powdered sugar, ensuring a delightful sweet coating that looks and tastes amazing.
• Optimize Ingredient Consistency: Bring butter and cream cheese to room temperature for seamless blending and ultra-smooth cookie texture.
• Stabilize Dough Structure: Refrigerate dough for 2 full hours, which helps control stickiness and makes the mixture easier to handle during shaping.

How to Store Paula Deen’s Gooey Butter Cookies

• Seal Tight: Lock in freshness by storing cookies in an airtight glass container with a snug-fitting lid. Ceramic containers work wonders too, preventing moisture and maintaining that delightful soft texture that makes these cookies irresistible.
• Layering Technique: Place parchment paper between cookie layers to prevent sticking and preserve their delicate shape. Gently stack cookies, ensuring they don't press against each other, which could damage their beautiful edges and soft centers.
• Temperature Control: Keep cookies away from direct sunlight and heat sources. Store in a cool, dry pantry or kitchen cabinet, maintaining their gooey goodness and preventing potential staleness or texture changes that could compromise their scrumptious appeal.

Creative Twists on Paula Deen’s Gooey Butter Cookies

• Chocolate Lover's Butter Cookies: Swap vanilla cake mix with chocolate cake mix, add 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips to the dough for extra richness and chocolate intensity.
• Lemon Zest Butter Cookies: Use white cake mix, incorporate fresh lemon zest into the dough, and replace vanilla extract with lemon extract for a bright, citrusy flavor profile.
• Nutty Butter Cookies: Mix chopped pecans or almonds into the dough before chilling, creating a crunchy texture and nutty undertone to the classic gooey butter cookies.
• Spiced Autumn Butter Cookies: Replace vanilla extract with pumpkin pie spice, use yellow cake mix, and add a sprinkle of cinnamon to the confectioner's sugar coating for a warm, seasonal touch.

Final Thoughts on Paula Deen’s Gooey Butter Cookies

Paula Deen’s Gooey Butter Cookies offer sweet magic straight from Southern kitchens.

Creamy textures melt delicately across taste buds with each irresistible bite.

Confectioner’s sugar creates delightful clouds of powdery perfection around these luxurious treats.

Butter and cream cheese blend into pure indulgence that whispers comfort and nostalgia.

Southern baking traditions shine through these simple yet extraordinary cookies.

Southern charm meets culinary delight – you’ll want to savor slowly, share generously, click that like button, spread the cookie love across social media, and bookmark this recipe for endless deliciousness.

Paula Deen Gooey Butter Cookies Recipe

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4.9 from 22 reviews

• Total Time: 22 minutes
• Yield: 24 1x

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Description

Paula Deen’s Gooey Butter Cookies offer pure indulgence straight from Southern kitchens. Rich cream cheese and butter blend into irresistible morsels that melt deliciously on taste buds, promising sweet comfort with each delectable bite.

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

Main Ingredients:

• 1 (18 ounces / 510 grams) box moist chocolate cake mix
• 1 (8 ounces / 226 grams) package room temperature cream cheese
• 1 stick (½ cup / 113 grams) room temperature butter
• 1 egg

Flavor Enhancers:

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Finishing Touch:

• confectioner’s sugar (for dusting)

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Instructions

1. Prepare the oven environment by positioning the rack in the center and heating to 350°F (175°C), ensuring an optimal baking temperature.
2. In a spacious mixing bowl, utilize an electric mixer to blend cream cheese and butter until achieving a silky, uniform consistency with no visible lumps.
3. Introduce the egg into the mixture, thoroughly integrating it with smooth, continuous strokes until completely incorporated.
4. Carefully add vanilla extract, then gradually fold in the cake mix, mixing until the batter reaches a harmonious texture without overmixing.
5. Shield the dough mixture with plastic wrap and transfer to the refrigerator, allowing it to rest and solidify for approximately 2 hours, which enhances flavor development and rolling capability.
6. Once chilled, extract the dough and shape into uniform balls measuring approximately 1 tablespoon (15 milliliters) in volume, generously coating each sphere with confectioner’s sugar for a delicate, sweet exterior.
7. Arrange the sugar-dusted dough balls on an ungreased cookie sheet, maintaining a 2-inch (5-centimeter) spacing to prevent merging during baking, and place in the preheated oven.
8. Bake for 12 minutes, monitoring closely to preserve a tender, slightly gooey center while achieving a delicate golden edge.
9. Remove from the oven and transfer cookies to a wire cooling rack, allowing them to reach room temperature naturally, which helps set their delightful texture.
10. Optional final touch: Dust with an additional light layer of confectioner’s sugar for enhanced visual appeal and subtle sweetness.

Notes

• Let the cookies rest undisturbed on the baking sheet after pulling from the oven. Fresh-from-the-oven treats need time to set and stabilize without breaking.
• Keeping the baking time short ensures a soft, melt-in-your-mouth center. Twelve minutes creates the perfect texture without drying out the delicate cookie.
• Covering each dough ball generously in powdered sugar creates a delightful crackled exterior. White sugar coating adds sweetness and visual appeal to every bite.
• Refrigerating the prepared dough helps control spreading and enhances flavor development. Two hours of chilling allows ingredients to meld and creates better cookie structure.
• Softening butter and cream cheese completely prevents lumpy dough. Room temperature ingredients blend seamlessly, producing a smooth, consistent mixture that bakes beautifully.

• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 12 minutes
• Category: Desserts, Snacks
• Method: Baking
• Cuisine: American

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 24
• Calories: 153
• Sugar: 9 g
• Sodium: 157 mg
• Fat: 9.9 g
• Saturated Fat: 5.5 g
• Carbohydrates: 15 g
• Fiber: 0.2 g
• Protein: 1.7 g
• Cholesterol: 28 mg