Like many of my baked goods these days, this one was an attempt to use things I had on hand.  I had a cake mix, a jar of peanuts, and chocolate chips.  So, I made these cookies.  And they are not bad.

These cookies taste like a cake mix, and that’s OK with me.  I happen to like that flavor every now and then.  The mix I had already had some little chips in it, so add a few more chocolate chips if your mix does not.  I used half butter and half margarine since I had half sticks of both in the fridge.  These were crazy delicious while still warm and gooey in the middle.  They weren’t quite as good the next day for some reason.  Just pop one…or two…or five in the microwave for 5-10 seconds to warm them up, and enjoy with a cold glass of milk. Mmmmm…

Switch the chips for whatever you want.  Use different nuts.  Whatever. Enjoy!

Fudgy Chocolate & Peanut Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 box chocolate cake mi
• 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter or margarine
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups salted peanuts
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips
• 1 cup peanut butter chips

Directions

1. Beat butter or margarine until smooth.  Beat in cake mix, then oil, eggs and vanilla until smooth.
2. Stir in peanuts, and chips.
3. Bake cookies at 350°F for 9-12 minutes.

This cake is by no means a classy or visually impressive dessert.  It’s not something that you would serve at a fancy dinner party, but it would be a crowd pleaser at a pot-luck or at a small, casual family dinner.

When you search “gooey butter cake” on Google, your first results will most likely be Paula Deen recipes.  However, she is not the inventor of the cake.  It originated in St. Louis in the 1940s and is typically not a dessert cake, but a coffee cake.  This Paula Deen version is too rich and sweet to be served as a coffee cake, in my opinion.  I found a recipe today for one made from scratch that I plan to try soon.  The base is made with a yeast dough that rises around the edges of the butter, cream cheese and sugar filling.

The cake mix makes this recipe very quick.  However, the cake mix with the combination of butter, cream cheese, powdered sugar and toffee make this cake very rich and incredibly sweet.  Some people may not like it (like Ben) for this very reason.  I am OK with crazy sweet desserts, so I liked this cake.  It should however be served in small pieces so that no one goes into a sugar coma.  Here is a link to the recipe.

Gooey Toffee Butter Cake

(Courtesy of Paula Deen, Foodtv.com)

Ingredients

Cake:

• 1 (18.25-ounce) box yellow cake mix
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

Filling:

• 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 (16-ounce) box confectioners’ sugar
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
• 1 cup almond toffee bits or chocolate toffee bits

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 13 by 9 by-2-inch baking pan.
2. For the cake: In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the cake mix, egg, and butter and mix well. Pat into the bottom of prepared pan and set aside.
3. For the filling: Still using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Beat in the eggs and vanilla. Dump in confectioners’ sugar and beat well. Reduce the speed and slowly pour in butter. Mix well. Fold in toffee bits.
4. Pour filling onto cake mixture and spread evenly. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes. Don’t be afraid to make a judgment call on the cooking time, because oven temperatures can vary. You want the center to be a little gooey, so don’t bake it past that point!
5. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely. Cut into squares. Just remember that these wonderful cakes are very, very rich, and a little will go a long way.