Gooey Bars (aka Cream Cheese Bars)

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Gooey Bars (aka Cream Cheese Bars)

I have no idea what these bars should actually be called or where this recipe really came from… It’s likely to have come on the back of a cream cheese box for all I know. (Actually, Google helped me to find this recipe which is the same). This is another recipe that my family loves. My sisters practically know this recipe by heart. Similar to the “best dang thing ever bars”, my sisters also prefer to underbake these bars, hence the name gooey bars. I tend to like my bars fully cooked so they hold their shape better. If you prefer an even gooier texture, take these out of the oven a couple minutes early.

I know some of you will shudder at the thought of using a box cake mix. I agree that in general, I would much rather make a cake/cookie/brownie from scratch. For starters, it’s a lot more fun as a baker to measure everything out and follow a recipe that has more than two steps. Not to mention knowing exactly what is in your food (and being able to pronounce it all!) I do however believe that boxed cake mix has a time and a place. One of those places being in this bar.

These bars taste almost like a cheesecake with a great chewy shortbread crust. Everyone that tried one really enjoyed them and Hubby ate an embarassingly large number of these bars.

Gooey Bars

Yield: 30

Ingredients:

1 box yellow cake mix
1/2 cup butter, melted
3 eggs
1 pound powdered sugar
1 8-oz package cream cheese

Directions:

Mix cake mix, margarine & 1 egg with fork. Press into bottom of greased 9 x 13 pan, set aside.

Beat powdered sugar, cream cheese and 2 eggs for 4 or 5 minutes. Pour over cake mixture.

Bake at 350 for 40 minutes. Cool completely. Cut into bars.

Recipe from my step mom

Don’t forget – I’m offering a chance to win a cute tote if you donate $5 or more to my Avon Walk by the end of January. See details here.

Bars and Brownies, Dessert, Family Favorites

27 comments »

31 Responses to “Kentucky Butter Cake”

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1

Megan — May 1, 2013 at 7:04 am
This sounds amazing! I’d be shocked if the people you manage don’t think you’re the best boss ever!
- beantownbaker — May 1st, 2013 @ 7:56 am
  
  Ha, I’m ok with bribing them with baked goods into feeling that way 🙂
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2

Eva @ Eva Bakes — May 1, 2013 at 7:40 am
I wish my boss would do something like this for us. This cake sounds phenomenal! Anything that tastes like a donut gets an A+ from me!
- beantownbaker — May 1st, 2013 @ 7:57 am
  
  I had a boss once who would bring a store bought cake and cut it into the same number of pieces as there were people at the meeting. And he made us sing. It was horrible.
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3

Erica @ In and Around Town — May 1, 2013 at 8:38 am
Definitely the best boss when you get homemade cakes that have been compared to a glazed donut! Congrats!!
- beantownbaker — May 1st, 2013 @ 9:05 am
  
  Thanks 🙂 I am pretty lucky in that my team is pretty awesome too.
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4

Tracy {Pale Yellow} — May 1, 2013 at 11:03 am
Congratulations on the promotion! Your team sounds lucky to have you and this cake looks gorgeous!
- beantownbaker — May 1st, 2013 @ 4:21 pm
  
  Thanks!
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5

Jill — May 1, 2013 at 4:24 pm
Congratulations on the promotion!! This looks and sounds delicious!
- beantownbaker — May 2nd, 2013 @ 9:05 am
  
  Thanks
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6

chelsea @ serves two — May 1, 2013 at 10:22 pm
oh my! a giant glazed donut in cake form??!! yes please! i am sort of curious though as to why it’s called a kentucky butter cake 🙂
- beantownbaker — May 2nd, 2013 @ 9:04 am
  
  I have no idea why it’s called Kentucky butter cake. I did a quick Google search and it doesn’t look like anyone knows.
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Sarah C — May 2, 2013 at 10:06 am
I’m glad there’s no explanation as to why it’s called a Kentucky Butter Cake, because I am making this for a themed food fest at work next week, and I’m changing it to Hawaiian Butter Cake so that I don’t have to find another recipe. 🙂
- beantownbaker — May 2nd, 2013 @ 12:07 pm
  
  I like the way you work 🙂
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8

Kathy — May 2, 2013 at 10:50 am
The staff meeting treat sounds like a regular monthly blog post…cant wait to see what is on deck next month
- beantownbaker — May 2nd, 2013 @ 12:08 pm
  
  For sure! I have already started asking my team members who have May birthdays about what they’d like. One said anything with chocolate. One said anything but chocolate. So that’s going to be a challenge! Luckily I’m the only June birthday so I’m going to go all out for June!
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Ashley Bee (Quarter Life Crisis Cuisine) — May 2, 2013 at 11:38 am
Ever seen The Office? Hehe… they looove birthday parties! And that’s so sweet that you’re acknowledging your workers like that. I’m sure you’re a great boss!
- beantownbaker — May 2nd, 2013 @ 12:08 pm
  
  Ha – if only we could all have parties like they do on The Office…
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Shannon — May 2, 2013 at 2:48 pm
best boss ever 🙂 this looks fantastic!! we have birthday buddies that we bring cake for, and it’s a pretty awesome tradition 🙂
- beantownbaker — May 2nd, 2013 @ 4:13 pm
  
  Oh I like the birthday buddies idea! I’m not sure that would work for my team since it’s ~80% guys… I do joke that everyone needs a buddy cause sometimes I look around and can’t tell who we’re missing. It would be a lot easier to just ask if everyone’s buddy was here like when we were kids on field trips.
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11

Brooke Schweers — May 3, 2013 at 7:40 pm

Yum! Looks devine! Such a perfect looking cake and the glaze makes it look extra shiny and pretty!
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12

Nutmeg Nanny — May 4, 2013 at 2:37 pm

Oh, this is such a perfect looking cake 🙂
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13

Laura Dembowski — May 5, 2013 at 11:13 am

Oh, I so want a slice of this! Love cakes that are soaked with syrup. So yummy!
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Angie — May 6, 2013 at 3:23 pm
i made this on Friday for a brunch on Saturday. It was delicious and I got lots of compliments! I was surprised when i made it because there were no instructions about adding the butter to the batter. I assumed that the butter should be softened and mixed in, but I would’ve expected it to be mixed in earlier so that it would incorporate more fully. You might consider adding clarification to that step.
- beantownbaker — May 6th, 2013 @ 5:46 pm
  
  Glad you enjoyed the cake. The second sentence in the second step talks about adding the butter. Are the instructions confusing?
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15

ErinsFoodFiles — May 6, 2013 at 4:13 pm
I think I’ve seen this recipe elsewhere on the interwebs… (of course my eye is drawn to anything Kentucky, my home state!) Glad to hear it’s so good!
- beantownbaker — May 6th, 2013 @ 5:47 pm
  
  It’s definitely out there on the web! I couldn’t find any info about why it’s called Kentucky Butter Cake though. Do you know anything about it? Do you guys eat it in Kentucky?
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16

claire — May 10, 2013 at 2:11 pm
So the glaze is on the bottom of the cake correct? You don’t reserve any to pour over the top?
- beantownbaker — May 13th, 2013 @ 8:24 am
  
  Yep, you pour it all in to the bottom of the cake while it’s in the pan.
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Maggie Wells — September 9, 2013 at 9:14 pm
Hi there! Wonderful cake. Just wondering — did you let the cake sit overnight with the syrup soaking?
- beantownbaker — September 10th, 2013 @ 7:58 am
  
  Yep, I let the cake sit overnight after adding the syrup.

Gooey Bars (aka Cream Cheese Bars)