Strawberry Cheesecake Ooey Gooey Bars

Sometimes you just want something sticky and well, ooey;) these bars do just the trick. And they're so easy to make. I'm obviously completely a wee bit obsessed w/the ooey gooey butter cookies and this is the "cake" version that the cookies were based on, with a slight variation: strawberry! Yum. I've made a few and while the red velvet is my favorite to date, this offers a "summery" flavor temptation that the red velvet lacks. Who am I kidding...I will eat red velvet whenever(and wherever!)

So here is the adapted version of Paula Deen's Ooey Gooey Bars

Ingredients

Cake:
1 box stawberry cake mix
1 egg
8 tablespoons butter, melted

Filling:
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened 
2 eggs 
1 teaspoon vanilla 
8 tablespoons butter, melted 
1 16-ounce box powdered sugar

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine the cake mix, egg, and butter and mix well with an electric mixer.  Pat the mixture into the bottom of a lightly greased 13 by 9-inch baking pan.

In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth.  Add the eggs, vanilla, and butter and beat together. 

Next, add the powdered sugar and mix well.  Spread over cake batter and bake for 40 to 50 minutes.  Make sure not to over bake as the center should be a little gooey.

**** I actually used two 8x8 pans and baked for around 35 minutes. But I normally follow her directions. and I like this better when it's a few hours old, I didn't refrigerate it but I imagine if it wasn't all eaten that you should overnight.

Makin' Whoopie...Pies

Salted Caramel to be exact...Yes, as good as it sounds. Actually, let's just for the sake of doing so, say it's even better. Whoopie Pies are something I was introduced to in my twenties..."officially" anyways, of course I'd had moon pies, fudge rounds and oatmeal cream. But then I had the tasty original...2 chocolate cake like cookies with a decadent cream in the middle. I made failed miserably at a batch, as Southern as I am, Crisco isn't in my blood. I cannot make it work for me & sadly - our friendship was never meant to be. Where's my grandma when I need her?! I did ok with out them for a while, they're actually not all the rage down here, we like our pound cakes and crumbles and oh yeah, chocolate chess pies. Then I upped and married myself "one of dem der Yankees" ;) haha and well, whoopie pies are popular there. I needed to fit in.

This led to me trying a variety of different versions before discovering the whole "cake mix cookie" craze. I've stumbled upon quite a few "base" recipes if you will and then have "whimsy'd" them up to exactly how I like them. One of my favorites is from Mix and Match Mama, I have used hers quite frequently, while always changing it up just a bit, as I've always done with recipes, unless it's a Maddie original and I only hope that people will like mine enough to give it their own twist. 

Enough of the small talk, I bring to you now a bit of goodness known as Salted Caramel Whoopie Pie

Ingredients:
cookies
1 box choc cake mix( I made w.yellow once and added a packet of the hot choc mix, was also quite yums)
1/2 cup canola oil(or any you prefer)
2 eggs
1/4 cup caramel creamer
filling
1 packet Starbucks salted caramel hot choc packet
8 oz cream cheese
1/4 cup caramel creamer
3/4 cup whipping cream
(alternate version)
cool whip

Preheat oven to 350'
Mix together dry cake mix, oil, eggs and creamer
I normally use a round TBSP to place on cookie sheet, but you can also use a round TSP to make them  bite size and get more out of it. Bake 8-9 minutes

For the filling
Cream softened cream cheese on low for 1 minute to get fluffy, add the hot choc packet and creamer, beat until fully incorporated and slowly add the whipping cream and beat until peaks begin to form. or for alternate version just mix a tub of thawed cool whip w/hot choc packet and creamer. Place in fridge for hour to let either version set up.

Take half of the cooled cookies and spoon yourself a heaping bit of filling and top with other cookie. There may be some left and it makes a great dip! I've discovered these are yummier after a night sleep in the fridge.

Enjoy! 

Crockpot Cream(cheese) Corn

A few years ago the place I was working at was holding our annual Chili cook off and one of our co workers brought a crock pot full of creamed corn. We were all slightly confused (as was she). She had a slight language barrier and thought she was supposed to bring anything in the crockpot, she didn't win that year but what she had was so beyond delicious that we made an entirely new category just for her the next year.

We all went to have a taste of something that seemed almost...boring. oops. Not Exactly, this simple side dish was almost unexplainable as to how tasty it was. I asked for her recipe and have made it for quite a few holidays and it is always a hit.

Ingredients

2 bags frozen corn(or one very large)

8 oz cream cheese, cold and cut into small pieces

4-6 tbsp butter(cold and cut into small pieces

Empty one bag of frozen corn into the crockpot, lay half the butter and cream cheese on top and top w/a liberal amount of salt and pepper(I also sometimes like to add season salt and red pepper flakes) then add half of remaining bag of corn and the rest of the butter and cream cheese, add more salt & pepper to taste. Put on high and let set for an hour. After an hour, stir together and scrape sides, let sit another hour.  Turn to low and stir every  half hour. Cook for about another hour to hour and a half. (although I have discovered that different crock pots/slowcookers cook at different speeds so maybe it takes an hour, maybe it takes two, just pay attention!)

first step

finished creamy, buttery product

after first half hour

Then sit back and enjoy the goodness. The last time I made this I mixed it up and added the new lemon herb cream cheese. it was quite tasty.

Somehow though...no matter what I do and no matter how good mine comes out, it never quite touches VJ's. This has led me to draw upon the only reasonable conclusion I can...she had a magical crockpot.

Strawberry Lemonade Cookies

My ooey gooey butter cookie phase has been full throttle lately. My most recent adventure involved strawberry. I have odd tendencies when it comes to food.  Take for instance the fact that I hate coffee, but heart coffee ice cream. I adore strawberries, but wouldn't eat strawberry cheesecake if you paid me. I always cringe when I spy a pink cupcake b/c more often than not...it's strawberry(which is uber sad b/c pink is my favorite). This then, makes little sense, that of all the flavors of cake mix I've dabbled in to make these cookies...strawberry captured me the easiest. As I said: odd tendencies.  Oh well, I am a woman, it's inherent in my nature to not make any sense whatsoever. Moving on...

Ingredients

1 8 oz brick cream cheese, room temperature

1 stick butter, at room temperature

• 1 egg

• 1 tbsp lemon juice

• 1 (18-ounce) box moist strawberry cake mix

• Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

DIRECTIONS-Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.In a large bowl with an electric mixer, cream the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Beat in the egg. Then beat in the lemon juice. Beat in the cake mix. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours to firm up so that you can roll the batter into balls. Roll the chilled batter into tablespoon sized balls and then roll them in confectioner's sugar. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet, 2 inches apart. Bake 10- 12 minutes. The cookies will remain soft and "gooey." Cool completely and sprinkle with more confectioners' sugar, if desired. 

 hope y'all enjoy these as much as I have. They're quite delightful and easily put you into a "springy" kinda mood. Especially when you've abstained from carbs for 2 weeks as I have. Yes, you read that right. 14 days of 25 carbs or less. Today was cheat day and c.h.e.a.t. I did. and guess what, my body hates me. Sugar is the evil one, why do I love it so. Now this week is 30-40 carbs a day. 12 of which will be chic fil a nuggets. hey, if I get them three meals a day...I'll still stay in my allotted amount. Hmmmmm?!?!haha kidding, or am I? only time will tell.

*Origin*

this is another of my adaption's of Paula Dean's Ooey Gooey Butter Cookie