I've decided to have a fabulous array of desserts at my annual Christmas Dinner. I bought a three-tier plate holder at World Market and found I liked it so much at Thanksgiving when it held all three swoonably delicious desserts, that it would be the perfect venue for serving dessert at Christmas. The top tier, I've decided, will feature mousse shooters (This idea comes from the "Tasting Party" section of the Pier 1 website, recipe and all. Clearly, I spend waaaaay too much time on the Pier 1 website!) The second tier will hold the molded and shaped cookies that are always so delicious and eye-catching, and the bottom tier will hold traditional holiday offerings such as pecan tassies, mini whoopie pies, Mexican wedding cakes, and other family favorites.
The delicious-looking cookies pictured above, derive from the Gooey Butter Cake*, a St. Louis, MO creation, and are hugely popular in this area. As much as I do like the Gooey Butter Cake, I'm not sure I like the cookies quite as well. They are soft and cake-like, and I prefer a crunchy cookie, but people seem to go wild for them here, so I'm making a batch for the holidays.
This recipe comes from The Blue Owl, a delightful restaurant and bakery in Historic Kimmswick, Missouri, located 25 miles south of St. Louis. It is family owned and operated and has been for the past 24 years. They specialize in an incredible assortment of desserts (along with serving a delicious lunch); their "Levee High Caramel Apple Pecan Pie" (truly a sight to behold) was featured on The Food Network's "Paula's Party" program.
GOOEY BUTTER COOKIES
The Blue Owl Restaurant and Bakery (Kimmswick, MO)
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, softened (no substitutions)
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 (about-18-ounce) box yellow cake mix
1 cup powdered sugar
In large bowl of electric mixer, beat together butter, vanilla, egg and cream cheese until light and fluffy. Add cake mix; beat until well blended. Cover dough and chill 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Shape dough into 1-inch balls; roll in powdered sugar. Place about 1 1/2 inches apart on a lightly greased cookie sheet (see note). Bake 12 minutes; do not let brown.
Let cookies cool, then sift additional powdered sugar over the tops.
Yield: About 4 dozen cookies
Note: Recipe may be doubled.
Note: Recipe may be doubled.
Tester's note: It isn't necessary to shake off excess powdered sugar after rolling. Baking on a greased sheet results in just enough spreading to make the cookies a perfect two-bite size. If you bake on parchment paper, the cookies spread a bit less and are more ball-shaped. These should not brown; baking 12 minutes allows the cookies to stay soft. I also tested this with chocolate cake mix with good results.
 |
| *The St. Louis Gooey Butter Cake story and original recipe. |
Those look yummy! Thanks for stopping by my blog. I'm a new follower, btw.
ReplyDeleteI am going to have to try these Gooey Butter Cookies. Anything with butter in the title has to be good. Thanks for stopping by "In His Grip."
ReplyDeleteThese cookies look so good, Pattie, and I could probably eat these, if I use a gluten free cake mix. Cookies and desserts are the things I miss the most! Thanks for visiting my blog. The Rustoleum paint I used is their Universal and it coated this metal container really well. I have not had any problem with any of their paints on metal. I think if you use Krylon brand you would have to make sure it is for metal.
ReplyDeleteMy goodness these cookies sound good! And not to hard to do. Thank you for sharing and thank you also for visiting me and leaving such a nice comment.(-:
ReplyDeleteYou have become my go to baking resource for the holidays. These look amazing and I will be making them!
ReplyDeleteI'm going to try this recipe. It looks so pretty and sounds delicious. Since I am a chocoholic, I may try it with the chocolate cake. Thank you for sharing this. laurie
ReplyDeleteWas just told about your recipe Gooey Butter Cookies from a friend and tried them for my family of four. They were delicious, turned out exactly like the picture, and they were pretty much gone in less than 48 hours. I have added this to my recipe binder and I will be baking up another batch later today. Thank you for posting this delicious recipe which I've also added to my Pinterest board. I look forward to trying more of your recipes. xx
ReplyDeleteI am so glad to hear that you liked them, Kelly! Thanks for letting me know.
ReplyDelete