Lemon Lovers Gooey Bars

This one is for you lemon lovers.  It is a rich gooey lemony bar dusted with powdered sugar and a dollop of creamy whip topping for anytime of the year.  It has cream cheese blended into it to satisfy that little tasty desire.

I won't take full credit for this recipe because it originates from the cake batter bars recipes.  I came up with my own version for the Lemon Lovers Gooey Bars.  It is VERY simple to make with only seven ingredients.  WARNING: Very rich!  lo

1 box lemon cake mix

3 eggs

8 oz. cream cheese softened

1/2C (1stick) butter, melted

4C (1 lb.) powdered sugar

2 tsp. lemon extract

zest of 2 lemons

 

Preheat oven to 300 and spray a 13x9 pan with cooking spray.  If you want a thicker bar you can use a smaller pan.

 

Melt butter in microwave in a safe microwave bowl.  I used the bowl I was going to mix the crust layer in so that I would not have to wash additional bowls.

 

Pour cake mix on top of melted butter and add one egg then mix into soft dough.

 

Press dough into bottom of the pan and set aside.

 

Now mix powdered sugar, softened cream cheese, and the two remaining eggs until smooth.

 

Then add lemon extract and the lemon zest to this and mix until it is combined into the cream cheese mixture.  Do not use lemon juice, use the extract.

 

Pour on top of the crust.

 

Bake at 300 for 40 to 50 minutes until top is golden brown.  In my oven it actually took 55 minutes.  The top layer is gooey so you can't do a tooth pick test for doneness.

 

Serve dusted with powdered sugar and a dollop of whip topping.  It taste lemony gooey warm or cool. (I got a little crazy with the dusting)

 

I don't know how well this will freeze but I am going to try it and see.  I will give you a follow up on that.  Hope you enjoy it!