Paula Deen's Gooey Butter Cake

I've had and made various versions of this cake.  But this was the best.  Very rich.  I followed the recipe exactly.

Ingredients:

Cake:
1 18 1/4-ounce package yellow 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.

Best Buttercream frosting

I made cupcakes for a family function and wanted to pipe the frosting.  I found this recipe at http://www.all-about-cupcakes.com.  It's easy and yummy.

1 stick butter
3 cups confectioners sugar, sifted
2 tablespoons milk

1. Have butter and milk at room temperature.

2. Place butter in small bowl of electric mixer and beat until butter is as white as possible.

3. Gradually add about half the sifted icing sugar, beating constantly.  Add milk.

  4. Beat in the remaining icing sugar.

5. Mixture should be smooth and easy to spread with a spatula. Add extra milk or icing sugar until cupcake frosting is of a spreadable consistency.

Allrecipes "The Best Rolled Sugar Cookies"

A few weeks ago, I about went into a severe panic.  I had lost my go-to sugar cookie recipe.  You have to understand, I am famous for my sugar cookies.  So, not being able to find the recipe had me very concerned.  Fortunately, just a couple days ago, I found it stuck up in one of my kitchen cabinets.  I've decided I must store it in multiple places so it won't get lost!

This recipe comes from allrecipes.com.

 

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups butter, softened
• 2 cups white sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 5 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour (or overnight).
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Roll out dough on floured surface 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Cut into shapes with any cookie cutter. Place cookies 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
3. Bake 6 to 8 minutes in preheated oven. Cool completely.