As long as I can remember I have loved lemon flavored everything. Lemon Chicken, Lemonade, Lemon Meringue Pie, Lemon Wafers…I could go on and on.
This recipe did not start out with any lemon in it at all. My first attempt was using a plain, butter flavored cake mix and no lemon flavoring in the filling. It was good, but I thought lemon would make it better. And, in my opinion, it did! If you’re a lemon lover like me, this is a must-try recipe.
Gooey Lemon Bars
You’ll need a lemon cake mix, 4 cups of powdered sugar, a bar of cream cheese, a stick of butter, 3 eggs and lemon extract.
We aren’t following the directions on the box of cake mix. Don’t even look at the back of that box. Dump the cake mix into a bowl. Add 1 egg and the melted butter. Stir together with a spoon (no mixer for this).
You’ll get a thick, lemony batter. Yum!
Spray a 9×13 baking pan with non-stick cooking spray, then spread batter to cover the bottom of the pan.
Now for the filling. Mix together powdered sugar, softened cream cheese and 2 eggs. This time use a mixer. Once your mixture is super smooth, add the lemon extract and mix that in really well.
Spread the creamy, lemony filling on top of the bottom layer.
Can you see the layers?
Bake in a 300 degree oven for 50-60 minutes. Do not overcook! You will lose the gooey-ness if you overcook it, but you want the center to be set.
The filling layer forms a light, flaky crust on top.
{It’s making my mouth water.}
One more shot of the light, incredibly delicious flakiness.
Gooey Lemon Bars are excellent served warm and sprinkled with a touch of powdered sugar. They are also great served chilled.
You may want to serve yourself a bar before you let the rest of the family know they’re ready. 🙂
- 1 box Lemon Cake Mix
- 1 stick butter, melted
- 3 eggs
- 4 cups Powdered Sugar
- 1 8oz bar Cream Cheese, softened
- 2 tsp Lemon Extract
- Do not follow the directions on the box of cake mix. Place cake mix, 1 egg and melted butter into a large mixing bowl. Mix together with a spoon to form a thick batter.
- Spread batter into a sprayed 9x13 baking pan. Cover the entire bottom of the pan.
- For the filling layer, mix together powdered sugar, 2 eggs and softened cream cheese. Use a mixer to make the filling smooth. Add lemon extract then mix well.
- Spread filling layer on top of batter layer in 9x13 pan.
- Bake at 300 degrees 50-60 minutes. Do not overbake or you will lose the gooey-ness. It is done when the edges are golden brown and the center is set.
- Serve warm sprinkled with powdered sugar or chill and serve later.
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