Strawberry Gooey Butter Cookies

The gooey butter cake was supposedly first made by a St. Louis area German baker who reversed his proportions of sugar and flour. His mistake turned into a great St. Louis tradition, which is the gooey butter cake. As I stand here in my kitchen, baking these delicious cookies once again, I decided to do some research on this delicious St. Louis recipe. My family currently resides in St. Louis and I spent 6 years of my life there when I was a teen, and I knew the recipe originated in St. Louis. Didn't realize the gooey butter cake has been around since the 1930s! The recipe posted here was created to decrease the preparation time for people baking these cookies at home. Not sure where this recipe came from, but I'm so happy to have it and share it with you. Talk about love at first bite!
{ Prep Time: 15 mins / Cook Time: 11-13 mins / Difficulty: Easy / Yields: 36 cookies }

Ingredients:

1 (8oz) package regular cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick), softened
1 large egg, at room temperature

1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1 (18oz) box Duncan Hines strawberry cake mix
1/3 cup powdered sugar (plus a couple extra Tbsp for dusting)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350º. In a medium mixing bowl fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and cream cheese.

2. Add the egg and vanilla, and mix just until combined.

3. Slowly add the cake mix, and combine at low speed until all ingredients are blended together.

4. Measure out powdered sugar in a small bowl. Using a 1" ice cream scoop (or small spoon), scoop dough into 1" balls, then roll them around in the bowl of powdered sugar. Place 2" apart on an ungreased baking sheet.

5. Bake for 11-13 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for 1 minute. Then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

Borrowed from Mama's Cookbook, "From My Kitchen, With Love"