Super soft and luscious lemon cookies loaded with all of the cream cheese and butter goodness of gooey butter cake. They practically melt in your mouth!
Ooey Gooey Cake, or gooey butter cake, is a St. Louis tradition. Since we live only a couple of hours from there, it shows up at our gathers regularly too. It is always a favorite.
A dense cakey base covered in butter and cream cheese. What is not to love?! Well, these are that… in cookie form… and with lemon!
The best thing about cookies like this is how easy they are to make. There is basically no measuring of ingredients, just dump and go!
I have made several varieties of cookies that start with a cake mix over the years. Zach’s birthday cookies are always a hit, they are super simple and loaded with sprinkles. In fact our friends think they are so good they nicknamed them crack cookies!
Then there are chocolate gooey butter cookies. They are every bit as good as the combination of chocolate, cream cheese and butter in cookie form sounds.
But I have to say these lemon gooey butter cookies are the first to disappear when they show up on a dessert buffet. Especially if I bring them to work, they will go in a snap!
I made them for my coworkers within the first few months on the job. They talked about them for days afterwards.
We have a snack table in the office that rarely goes empty for long. After the holidays I think we went on a self imposed detox and it hasn’t been quite as full an normal.
So I thought I would spruce it up with bright lemony cookies. I didn’t hear a single complaint and the plate was empty quickly. I suppose that’s a sign that they need more cookies!
For another fun cookie recipe using lemon cake mix, check out lemon blueberry whoopie pies. Or whip up some super soft homemade lemon cookies if you don’t want to start with a mix.
Did you make this great recipe? Please leave a review in the recipe card below!
Lemon Gooey Butter Cookies
Super soft and luscious lemon cookies loaded with all of the cream cheese and butter goodness of gooey butter cake. They practically melt in your mouth!
Ingredients
- 1 lemon cake mix
- 1/2 tsp lemon extract
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 8 oz cream cheese, softened
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
Instructions
- Cream together butter and cream cheese.
- Stir in egg, extract and cake mix until uniform.
- Chill dough for two hours
- Preheat oven to 350°F
- Roll dough into small balls. Then roll the balls in a bowl of powdered sugar and place a couple of inches apart on a cookie sheet
- Bake for 10 minutes. Cool on cookie sheet for a couple of minutes, then move to a wire rack to cool completely.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
24Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 161Total Fat: 8gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 27mgSodium: 222mgCarbohydrates: 21gFiber: 0gSugar: 12gProtein: 2g
All nutritional information is estimated and will depend on the exact ingredients you use.
More great lemon recipes
If you like the bright tang of lemon, you are going to love these recipes as well!
Carlee
Tuesday 26th of February 2019
Thank you!
Babychaser
Sunday 24th of February 2019
These look amazing! I pinned them so I can gather ingredients and make some asap. :)
Congrats on getting most clicks on Snickerdoodle!
Blessings, Babychaser
Carlee
Tuesday 26th of February 2019
Thank you, I hope you enjoy them! <3
Amy
Monday 18th of February 2019
When I saw these, it brought back some great memories. I love these cookies!
Carlee
Tuesday 26th of February 2019
Yay! I love food memories!
Debbie
Wednesday 13th of February 2019
Hi Carlee, ooooo lemon cookies, a close second to chocolate chip cookies, but we don't get lemon cake mix here. Which is a shame as these sound so good!
xx
Carlee
Tuesday 26th of February 2019
Oh man! I am sure you could make delicious lemon cookies anyway, but this is such a super easy way to do it!
Andrea Nine
Wednesday 13th of February 2019
I love lemon so very much! I really want to try these, such a pretty Spring color too! xo
Carlee
Tuesday 26th of February 2019
We can use all the bright things we can get after this doozie of a winter! Thank you!