Have you ever had a dessert that you can’t stop thinking about? For me, it’s gooey butter cookies. I first discovered them in college when my roommate’s mom sent her a care package that included a slightly-smooshed bag of homemade gooey butter cookies. Despite having grown up in the Midwest, I had never heard of the cookies before. I was hooked at first bite. They don’t look like much, but they’re an incredibly delicious combination of cream cheese, butter, and cake mix.

Gooey butter cookies originated in St. Louis as a take on classic Gooey Butter Cake. Like the cake, these butter cookies are dense with a fudge-like consistency. The powdered sugar-rolled shell becomes crisp when baked and serves as the perfect contrast for the soft interior. Our Test Kitchen tested and perfected the recipe, and it’s truly the best version of the classic I’ve ever had.

The best part? Since the dough starts with a cake mix, the recipe is very easy to make. Need a pick-me-up after a long day of work? Make gooey butter cookies. Heading to a last-minute potluck? Bring gooey butter cookies. Craving a treat at 3 p.m. every single day? Whip up gooey butter cookies. They’ll always be a hit. Here’s how to make my favorite cookie recipe.

Gooey Butter Cookie Ingredients

These cookies are so much more than the humble assortment of ingredients you’ll need to make them.

• Cream Cheese: It’s super important to let your cream cheese soften before you start mixing up the cookie dough. Once soft, it will mix into the other ingredients easily, ensuring your batter is even and smooth.
• Butter: It wouldn’t be a gooey butter cookie recipe without butter! You’ll need a stick that’s been softened at room temperature.
• Egg: You may be sensing a theme here, but make sure your eggs are room temperature before adding the the mix. Like the cream cheese and butter, room temperature eggs will mix better with the other ingredients.
• Extracts: After testing, we found our favorite flavor blend was a combination of vanilla and almond extracts. If you’d prefer one or the other, that’s totally fine.
• Cake Mix: You’ll need a box of yellow cake mix. We don’t recommend swapping in another style.
• Powdered Sugar: This is what you’ll roll the scoops of cookie dough in before baking.

How to Store Gooey Butter Cookies

If you have leftover cookies, store them in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days.