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Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Gooey Butter Bars

This fun twist on Gooey Butter Cake is OUTSTANDING!  I added a layer of chocolate chip cookie dough in the middle to make crazy sweet and rich Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Gooey Butter Bars.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Gooey Butter Bars | www.cookiesandcups.com

I’m taking it there today.

Down and dirty…your teeth will hurt later…you only need a few bites…kinda THERE.

I don’t know who invented Gooey Butter Cake, I know I certainly didn’t, but it’s been around for ages.

I also know there are different variations on it depending on where in the country you are…

I was in Philadelphia this past summer and I visited The Flying Monkey Bakery in Reading Terminal, and I will tell you the ButterCake there can NOT be beat.  Seriously, it’s worth a whole trip Philly.  I mean, that and the Liberty Bell…history people.

Anyhow, my brain problem with Gooey Butter Cake is that it ain’t cake, at least in my book. It’s TOTALLY a bar dessert.  If you can eat it with your hands it’s not cake.   Well, except cupcakes? Anyway, you know what I mean.

So anyway, I decided to go ahead and make an already outrageously sweet dessert MORE sweet.  Because cookie dough…

So let’s talk a quick minute about Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Gooey Butter Bars before you make them.  And make them you will.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Gooey Butter Bars | www.cookiesandcups.com

It all starts with a cake mix. Yep.  The 80’s version of Gooey Butter Cake lives loud and proud in these bars…

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Gooey Butter Bars | www.cookiesandcups.com

Make your simple cake mix base…1 egg + 1/2 cup of melted butter + yellow cake mix.

The mix up a quick cookie dough.  Don’t even bother washing your mixer in between layers.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Gooey Butter Bars | www.cookiesandcups.com

Then spread that dough all up on the base…

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Gooey Butter Bars | www.cookiesandcups.com

To about 1/2 inch from the edge…

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Gooey Butter Bars | www.cookiesandcups.com

Then mix your topping up.. it’s cream cheese, a few eggs, some brown sugar, powdered sugar and vanilla.  Simple dimple.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Gooey Butter Bars | www.cookiesandcups.com

Spread it all over…

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Gooey Butter Bars | www.cookiesandcups.com

And then bake it.

When I baked it I placed my 9×13 on a cookie sheet.

Also, note that when I make these I normally line my 9×13 with foil and spray that… I forgot to do it when I was baking the batch I took process shots of.

When it’s baked and cooled and chilled dust it with powdered sugar to make it purty…

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Gooey Butter Bars | www.cookiesandcups.com

And then OMGeat.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Gooey Butter Bars | www.cookiesandcups.com

You guys are gonna love me for this one.

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Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Gooey Butter Bars

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 3 reviews
  • Author: Cookies & Cups

Description

makes 30 squares


Ingredients

Scale

Base

  • 1 box yellow cake mix
  • 1/2 cup butter, melted
  • 1 egg

Cookie Dough Filling

  • 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
  • 1 cup light brown sugar
  • 2 Tbsp milk
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1/2 tsp kosher salt
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1 cup chocolate chips

Top Layer

  • 8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
  • 1/3 cup light brown sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 325°

Base

  1. Line 9×13 pan with foil and spray with cooking spray.
  2. In bowl of stand mixer combine cake mix, egg and melted butter until a thick dough forms.
  3. Press this into your prepared pan.

Cookie Dough Filling

  1. Cream butter and sugar together until combined. Add milk and vanilla, mixing until smooth. Beat in salt and flour until dough forms. Stir in chocolate chips.
  2. Spread the cookie dough on top of cake base to about 1/2 inch from the edge.

Top layer

  1. In bowl of stand mixer beat cream cheese and brown sugar until smooth. Add in eggs and vanilla, mixing until combined and smooth, scraping sides as needed.
  2. Beat in powdered sugar until there are no lumps.
  3. Pour this over the cookie dough layer.
  4. Place 9×13 pan on top of a cookie sheet and place in oven on middle rack. Bake foe 30-35 minutes until edges are light golden brown and center is almost set. It will be little “jiggly”.
  5. Allow to cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes and then transfer to the refrigerator to chill completely, at least 2 hours.
  6. When chilled dust with powdered sugar and cut into squares.

Notes

store airtight in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

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44 comments on “Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Gooey Butter Bars”

  1. Does this need to stay chilled? Or can i leave this out at work for a company party? People will be coming and going all day. Pleaae let me know this looks delish!

    1. You can certainly chill it, but I like it best at room temp and it will be totally fine sitting on a latter for the day!

  2. What could sub for the cream
    Cheese in the
    Topping? I don’t/can’t do cream cheese but everything else
    About this looks incredible!

  3. What could I sub for the cream cheese in the frosting? I don’t/can’t do cream cheese but everything else about this looks incredible

  4. You’ve done a lot of fun spins off of the traditional Gooey Butter Cake bars…at the risk of sounding Plain Jane, do you have a go-to recipe for just plain Gooey Butter Cake bars? I’ve searched your site, and have just come up with all the spin-offs (which have been fun to look at!), but wanting to try my hand at the original and felt you’d be a good source. 🙂 I’ve seen some variations out there…some with 2 eggs in the crust, some with 1, some with butter in the cream cheese topping, some without, some with only powdered sugar, some with brown sugar too…any thoughts? Thanks!

  5. Rebecca VanSpeybrock

    When you print out the recipe, it doesn’t have the pan size or the temperature. I found the pan size in the body text, but still don’t see the baking temperature. And I’m ready to put them in! :0(

    1. So strange! The temperature is listed in the recipe so weird it isn’t printing out. It’s 325°

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