I am by no means a chef but I have always liked to bake, even if it is with a little help from my friend, Betty Crocker. Whenever I am asked to bring something to a potluck or dinner party, I usually do a simple cop-out and buy something. When I do decide to make something from scratch, I always sign up for dessert and I bring my favorite thing to make: Texas Gold Bars. I discovered this recipe through my friend in middle school (shoutout AVP) who brought these treats every year for her birthday. I would always wait around for November and be so excited for my friend to bring these in that I even started asking her to make me extras! Finally, we got together one day in middle school and she taught me the recipe so I could bake them myself. Ever since then, they’re my favorite thing to not only bake but consume because they have such a unique taste. By looking at the name you’re probably like…what could a Texas Gold Bar be, and I can only describe it as buttery, yummy, goodness. I’ve heard they’re similar to St. Louis Gooey Butter Cake if you’ve had that before. Below is the recipe to make for yourself and once you do I promise you will fall in love with my Potluck Gold Mine Treat.
Ingredients:
1 Box of Betty Crocker Yellow Cake Mix
1 Cup (2 Sticks) of melted butter (separated)
3 Eggs
8 oz of Cream Cheese
16 oz of Powdered Sugar
1 teaspoon of Vanilla
2 mixing bowls
Directions:
1. Preheat your oven to 350℉
2. In one of your bowls, mix together the box of vanilla cake mix with 1 egg and ½ a cup (1 stick) of melted butter. The consistency should be solid like dough, not wet like cake batter usually is.
3. Take your baking pan and coat it with whatever your personal preference pan coating is such as butter, pam, avocado oil spray, etc…
4. Once the pan is lathered up, press the cake mix into the pan to create the bottom cake layer. Make sure the cake layer covers every inch of the pan, especially the corners.
5. In your other bowl, start mixing the rest of your ingredients to make the top layer. Start with the cream cheese and the two other eggs. Once that is mixed together, add the other ½ cup of melted butter and teaspoon of vanilla.
6. Then add the 16 oz of powdered sugar into that mixture. The consistency of this should be a wet layer, smooth and a very light yellow in color.
7. After that, pour the mixture over the cake layer that is already in your pan. This too should be an even layer covering the whole surface area.
8. Now into the oven they go!! Bake the bars for 45 minutes. When the time is up, they should have a crispy light brown crust on top. You might think they need more time but trust me, once you let them sit they will harden.
9. When you take them out let them cool for 40 minutes. Once they’re cool I like cutting them up into squares just like you would with brownies!
