Chocolate Gooey Butter Cookies

Yield: 2 dozen cookies

Ingredients

• 1 (8 ounce) brick cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 stick butter, at room temperature
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 (18.25 ounce) box moist chocolate cake mix*
• Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl with an electric mixer, cream the cream cheese and butter until smooth.
3. Beat in the egg, then beat in the vanilla extract.
4. Beat in the cake mix.
5. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours to firm up so that you can roll the batter into balls.
6. Roll the chilled batter into tablespoon size balls and then roll them in confectioners' sugar. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet, 2 inches apart.
7. Bake for 12 minutes. The cookies will remain soft and "gooey."
8. Cool completely and sprinkle with more confectioners' sugar, if desired.

Notes

* 18.25 ounce boxes of cake mix have been replaced by 16.5 ounce and 15.25 ounce boxes. To compensate for the volume loss in a 16 ounce box, whisk 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour into the dry cake mix before proceeding with the recipe. To compensate for the volume loss in a 15.25 ounce box, add 1/2 cup + 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour and 1/4 teaspoon baking powder.