These Ooey Gooey Bars are so simple to make, always a crowd favorite, and melt-in-your-mouth delicious! With cake mix, butter, cream cheese, and powdered sugar in the ingredients, you cannot go wrong. The hardest part will be waiting for them to cool!
Originally posted July 2012, updated April 2022
Ooey Gooey Bars
Today I'm going to share a super easy recipe with you. Why? Because it's the day after a holiday - and we all need an easy day after a holiday.
Also, this recipe is a family favorite.
If we remember at the last minute we need to take a dessert to church - we make these bars.
If we are having guests and need a no-fuss dessert - we make these bars.
And if my older sons are coming over and I want to make something they love? Yup, you guessed it. We make these Ooey Gooey Butter Bars.
And what makes this recipe even more appealing? It's super-duper easy and anybody can make it. My kids make it all the time!
Plus, you probably have the ingredients on hand (or you should... 😉).
Make these today. Or this weekend. Or for your next potluck - you'll be everybody's hero!
This recipe has been around forever with my family. And it has at least a dozen different names and as many variations.
But whatever you call it - or whatever small alterations you make... the bottom line is, Gooey Butter Bars are the bomb!! I could bake a pan of these and eat the entire dish with a spoon! One taste of them and you'll be hooked!
Ingredients
When Paula Deen made these Gooey Butter Cake Bars popular, she really did us all a favor! Cake mix (yum!)... cream cheese (more yum!)... butter (um, helloooo?... YUM!)... and sugar (of course)!
Let me give you a few more details...
- Cake Mix - Yellow Cake Mix is the popular choice, but I've also used Butter Cake Mix and had great results! Want to change things up? Try a Lemon Cake Mix or Chocolate Cake Mix for fun variations!
- Melted Butter - I always use salted butter. Unsalted butter would work just as well, but you may want to add a pinch of salt to the cake batter.
- Eggs - large eggs are great for this recipe. Also, always use eggs at room temperature - they bake better that way!
- Cream Cheese - regular cream cheese is the best choice here. I would not recommend substituting the low-fat version.
- Powdered Sugar
- Vanilla Extract - vanilla extract always amps up the flavor of any dish. Make homemade vanilla extract for an even better experience!
Equipment
- Mixing Bowl
- 9x13 Baking Pan
- Electric Mixer (hand mixer or a stand mixer)
- Rubber Spatula
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How to Make Ooey Gooey Bars
Prepare the bottom layer:
- You will not bake the first layer, but we still need to preheat an oven to 325°F.
- Prepare a 9x13 inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.
- For the crust, mix the first 3 ingredients together in a large bowl with a fork until mixed together as thoroughly as possible. The texture of the mixture will be, well, dry and clumpy.
- Dump into the dish, spread out and press down with your hands. Cover the bottom and if you want, you can go slightly up the sides of the dish (sometimes I do, sometimes I don't)
Prepare the Ooey Gooey Cream Cheese Layer:
- First, for the cream cheese layer, thoroughly mix the softened cream cheese, eggs, and vanilla.
- Then set aside about ¼ cup of the powdered sugar. Slowly add in the rest of the powdered sugar while mixing (and I mean slowly, else you'll end up with a huge cloud of powdered sugar all over your kitchen!) When you're done mixing, the cream cheese mixture should be nice and smooth.
- Pour the gooey cake batter over the crust in the 9"x13" dish.
- Bake at 325° for 40 to 45 minutes, or until the top is golden brown. It'll be so light and flaky too... yum!!
- Remove from the oven and let stand to cool; the top will appear all puffy, but will settle upon cooling. After about 10 minutes or so, sprinkle the remaining powdered sugar over the top.
- Cool completely before serving. Personally, I like these still a little warm, but my friends also like to chill them in the refrigerator and eat them cold. Either way - they're plain deliciousness!!
Video
Pro Tips for Ooey Gooey Butter Cake Bars
- Wait for these to cool before cutting into squares/bars. Otherwise, they'll tear easily.
- Do not overcook the bars or you will not have the ooey gooey texture for the top layer. As soon as they're golden brown, remove them from the oven!
- Spray your pan with non-stick spray, or better yet, use a disposable pan for easy cleanup!
- You can use butter cake mix or vanilla cake mix if you don't have yellow cake mix on hand.
Serving Suggestions
Okay - if I'm being honest here, the trick to enjoying them the most is eating these bars straight out of the pan while they're still warm. 😁 Okay... there are no tricks. But seriously, let them cool then enjoy them while they're fresh and they are amazing! OR eat them at room temp if you like. OR refrigerate them and eat them cold.
They're perfect for dessert, finger foods, parties, potlucks, or an after-school snack!
FAQ
Ooey Gooey Butter Cake Bars are rich, sweet, two-layer bars that have a crust made from cake mix, butter, and eggs and are topped with a sweet cream cheese layer that is baked until it's flakey, beautiful, and delicious!
Gooey butter cake is believed to have been created in the 1930s in St. Louis, Missouri, and was primarily a local dish until Paula Deen made it famous. The original cake was from scratch and did not include any cream cheese.
The other super popular variation (like mine) includes cream cheese and store-bought yellow cake mix. This variation seems to stem from the St. Louis Convention u0026 Visitors Commission and is sometimes called St. Louis Gooey Butter Cake Bars.
While I almost always refrigerate these bars if we don't eat them all the first day, this cake can safely be stored at room temperature for up to 3 days. If you want to do this, be sure to store it in an airtight container OR cover the bars with aluminum foil or plastic wrap to help keep them from drying out.
More names for Ooey Gooey Bars
- Ooey Gooey Butter Bars
- Gooey Butter Bars
- Gooey Butter Cake Recipe
- Ooey Gooey Butter Cake Bars
- Butter Bars
- Ooey Gooey Bars Recipe
- Paula Deen's Ooey Gooey Butter Cake
- Neiman Marcus Bars
- Texas Gold Bars
- Chess Bars
More Dessert Bars Recipes
Printable Ooey Gooey Bars Recipe:
PrintRecipe
Ooey Gooey Bars
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 24 1x
Description
These Ooey Gooey Bars are so simple to make, always a crowd favorite, and melt-in-your-mouth delicious! With cake mix, butter, cream cheese, and powdered sugar in the ingredients, you cannot go wrong. The hardest part will be waiting for them to cool!
Ingredients
For the Crust:
- 1 box yellow cake mix, I use Pillsbury (18.25 ounce)
- 1 stick of butter, at room temperature
- 1 egg
For the Gooey Filling:
- 1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1 box (16 or so oz.) powdered sugar
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 2 eggs
Instructions
- Preheat an oven to 325°F.
- Prepare a 9x13 inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.
- For the crust, mix the first 3 ingredients together in a large bowl with a fork until mixed together as thoroughly as possible. The texture of the mixture will be, well, bizarre. Dry and clumpy. Dump into a greased 9"x13" pan, and press down with your hands. Cover the bottom and slightly up the sides of the dish.
- First, set aside about ¼ cup of the powdered sugar. Now, for the gooey filling, in a large bowl, mix the softened cream cheese, eggs, and vanilla. Slowly add in the rest of the powdered sugar while mixing (and I mean slowly, else you'll end up with a huge cloud of powdered sugar all over your kitchen!) When you're done mixing, the goo in the bowl should be nice and creamy.
- Pour the gooey stuff over the crust in the 9"x13" dish. Bake at 325° for 40 to 45 minutes, or until the top is golden brown. It'll be so light and flaky too... yum!!
- Remove from the oven and let cool; the gooey stuff will appear all puffy, but will settle upon cooling. After about 10 minutes or so, sprinkle the remaining powdered sugar over the top.
- Cool completely before serving. Personally, I like these still a little warm, but my friends also like to chill and eat them cold. Either way - they're plain deliciousness!!
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 45
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Elizabeth
So glad to hear you are on a mini vacation. You deserve it and have earned it!!!! Have fun and enjoy with the family. I'm going to make these for a family reunion. They look delicious and so easy too!! Hope I can get pass just eating one to taste..LOL...
Rose
I hope you love them as much as we do!!
Whittney
I absolutely love these bars and they are ALWAYS a hit when I make them. I now have to make them for every gathering It is a must make recipe!!!
C edwards
There is no pillsbury 18.25 oz cake mix? Is this an error? Did you mean 15.25oz?
Rose
Right! I need to update the recipe! I wrote a post awhile back (click HERE to read it) about how cake mix companies reduced the size of mixes! This recipe should still work with the smaller mix.
madge | the vegetarian casserole queen
These do seem really easy and super yummy! Can't wait to try it out!
Rose
I think you'll like them!
Lisa
This showed up in my news feeds on Facebook and oh what a scrumptious bar. I had everything so thought what the heck. Went in and whipped them up and like I said on my Facebook page when I shared the recipe ... they are almost better than s~e~x! My husband loves them too. Thanks so much for sharing this, they are A~mazing!!
Rose
Awesome!! So glad you enjoyed them! They're a favorite of ours for sure!
Diana
Where do you find a cake mix with 18.25 ounces? All I seem to be finding is 16.25. Is there an adjustment to the recipe that you can recommend using the smaller box?
Rose
I can't find them anymore - they've been downsized since I wrote this post. However, I still make them with the smaller mixes and they still turn out great!
Pattijohn
To make up for that missing 3 ounces in the cake mixes, ,I keep a Chocolate and White or yellow cake mix in my freezer, and weigh out 3 oz from which ever comes closest to the flavor I am baking with.
Rose Atwater
Yes, that's what I do too!
Kim~madeinaday
These gooey bars look amazing! Thanks for linking up to Merry Monday! Sharing on our Mm Pinterest Board! Have a great week!
Kim
Audrey
oh the cream cheese, oh the easiness, oh I want these. Thanks for sharing on the #HomeMattersParty . I hope you will join us again next week.
Rose Atwater
Thank you!
Lisa
I don’t have have a yellow cake mix, will white work just as well? Here we are in the midst of the Coronavirus, and I don’t want to venture back to the store with all those crazies!...was looking for something simple to bake, and remembered some of these my friend made once...found your recipe, I have everything but yellow cake!
Susan
Hi Lisa, yes, the white cake mix will work just fine! Hope y'all enjoy them!
Lila
I think add some lemon zest and juice to the cheese mix.
Rose Atwater
Yum!!
Karly
These bars look so rich and delicious! Thanks for linking up with What's Cookin' Wednesday!
Liz
These are a must make for sure! Thanks so much for adding your recipe to the Delicious Dishes Recipe Party on Pocket Change Gourmet.
~Liz
Joan
Do these need to be refrigerated after backing?
Rose
I usually keep them at room temp, but refrigeration would be ok too.
LiLi
This recipe is going to be a keeper. I can't wait to try it. It sounds so easy to make! It will definitely be a HIT! I wanted to ask if anyone has done a variation, like a maybe a layer of fruit or some raspberries, cranberry sauce, etc. Just a thought. I'm making them this week! Thank you so much for sharing.
LiLi
Forgot to leave the Stars.
Carla Warren
These bars are fabulous and everyone wants to carry them home and sit and watch their favorite TV show. But I’m sorry maybe next time.
SMILE !!!!
Rose
Love hearing this!! 🙂 Happy New Year!
Maureen
Cannot print due to ads popping up in the recipe. Will have to write it down. Very frustrating.
Judy C.
I often make these with a German chocolate cake mix and add coconut and pecans to the top layer. Have also done a lemon version as well as a strawberry version...also yummy. Very easy to customize this recipe...be bold!
Rose
That sounds amazing!
Deborah
My grandfather loves these and I’m making him a batch as part of his birthday gifts. Thanks for posting!
Harlee
Does this recipe call for 2 or 3 eggs? I’m seeing both.
Rose
Three (3) eggs total. One for the crust, two for the filling.
James r Arnold
I substituted with a lemon cake mix and a 50/50 lemon/vanilla extract ratio and it turned out fantastic!! I made the original recipe a while back and thought I would try something different. If you like lemon bars, try the Gooey Lemon Bars!!
Rose
That sounds SO good! I love a lemon dessert!
Valarie
I need to make a double batch. Can I use a 9x13 pan?
Rose
Yes!
Katie
We just LOVE these bars. There's never any left when I make them.
Christy Garrett
These lemon bars look so good. I’ll have to make these for my son next week.