Chocolate Gooey Butter Cookies

I needed some easy cookies for Christmas, so I tried these. They're not fancy, but they're moist and yummy. I used low-fat cream cheese instead of regular.



1 (8-oz) brick cream cheese, room temperature
1 stick butter, room temperature
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 (18-oz) box moist chocolate cake mix
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Preheat oven to 350.

In a large bowl with an electric mixer, cream the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Beat in the egg. Then beat in the vanilla. Beat in the cake mix. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours to firm up so you can roll into balls. Roll the chilled batter into tablespoon-sized balls then roll them in confectioners' sugar. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet, 2 inches apart. Bake 12 minutes. The cookies will remain soft and "gooey." Cool completely and sprinkle with more confectioners' sugar, if desired.

Yield: 2 dozen cookies

Recipe Source: Paula Deen (www.foodtv.com)