Chocolate Chip Gooey Butter Cake Bars

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Chocolate chip gooey butter cake is easy to make but tastes amazing. It is the perfect mix of chocolaty base with a cream cheese filling and chocolate chips. The result is rich and ooey gooey goodness.

If you are a fan of the St. Louis Classic Gooey Butter Cake, you are going to love the chocolate twist on that recipe. This easy recipe starts with a chocolate cake mix, butter, cream cheese and eggs and turns them into something magical.

Living not too far from the St. Louis area, gooey butter cake has been in my family for as long as I can remember. We love the original but we also love making fun twists on that idea.

For birthdays we make funfetti gooey butter cake or lemon gooey butter cake. During the fall we make pumpkin gooey butter cake and apple gooey butter cake as well.

But this time we were in the mood for a chocolate twist. So I used a chocolate cake mix and added chocolate chips and the results were delicious.

I am not exactly sure why some of the cake layer popped up during baking this recipe. It almost gave a marble effect.

You know what though? I kind of like the way it looked and of course it tasted amazing so I had to go ahead and share it with you.

Tips and Tricks

Lining the pan with aluminum foil is not at all necessary. It just makes lifting the bars out of the pan to cut nice pieces easier.

I normally don’t do that step unless I plan on taking pictures to share with you. If I am just making these tasty bars for my family, I bake them in the pan and don’t worry if the knife drags a bit as I cut them.

We normally serve them with a dusting of powdered sugar anyway, so that can cover any imperfections!

If you have having trouble getting the crust spread out in the bottom of the pan, moisten your fingertips a bit. When your fingers are damp, the dough is less likely to stick to them and it makes spreading it out easier.

To avoid getting lumps of cream cheese in your filling, make sure it is good and softened first. Beat it well before adding any other ingredients.

You can stir the chocolate chips into the cream cheese layer or sprinkle them over the top. Either way works, but sprinkling them over the top will ensure more even distribution. (I learned that after making the video!)

These bars are meant to be a bit ooey gooey, so you want to pull them out of the oven when they are just done. The edges should be puffed up and the cake should look baked through, but the center of the cream cheese filling should still have a little bit of wobble.

While the gooey butter cake is delicious warm, it is extra gooey and hard to cut and serve. It is best to let it cool completely or even chill slightly before cutting.

Then serve the cake at room temperature or even warmed slightly in the microwave. Though really there is no wrong way to serve it!

Well, there you have it! This is the perfect dessert for almost any occasion.

It is so easy to make, you can do it just because. But it is good enough to make to bring to carry-ins, birthdays, parties and more!

For another simple treat, try making old fashioned graham cookie bars. They only take 5 ingredients and a few minutes to put together and the result is like a cross between a chocolate chip cookie bar and a magic cookie bar.

Did you make this great recipe? Please leave a review in the recipe card below!

Thanks for sharing!