GOOEY BUTTER COOKIES

From The Blue Owl Restaurant and Bakery (Kimmswick, MO)

Yield: About 4 dozen cookies

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.

Per cookie: 75 calories; 3g fat (36 percent calories from fat); 1.5g saturated fat; 10mg cholesterol; 1g protein; 11g carbohydrate; 7g sugar; no fiber; 80mg sodium; 17mg calcium; 14mg potassium.

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.