Gooey Butter Bars

I live in the Saint Louis area, and Gooey Butter Cake runs through our veins. It's a right of passage, and I tried to make this like oh, ten years ago, and fucked it up, and never went back. Well, obviously that needed to change, so here we are again. She just keeps pulling me back in, but this time, it's just right. 

This recipe is a little different than a traditional gooey butter cake because it has a shortbread crust instead of the cake mix layer, but honestly, I may prefer this. It makes a 9x13 of bars. 

For the Shortbread:

1 c (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temp

1/2 c granulated sugar

1 tsp vanilla bean paste (or if you don't have this you can use vanilla extract)

3/4 tsp salt

2 c all purpose flour

1. Preheat oven to 350F and prepare 9x13 with parchment paper (with some overhang to make it easier to pull out) and cooking spray. 

2. Cream together butter and sugar. Add in vanilla bean paste and salt. 

3. Slowly incorporate flour. This mixture will be sandy, but when you squeeze it together in your hand, it will clump.

4. Pour into prepared pan and press down with hands or the back of a flat measuring cup. 

5. Bake for 15 minutes, and while it's baking, prepare filling. 

For the Gooey Butter:

8 oz cream cheese, room temp

1 stick unsalted butter, room temp

2 eggs

1/2 tsp salt 

1 tsp vanilla bean paste 

Zest of 1 lemon

4 cups powdered sugar 

1. In a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream together cream cheese and butter. 

2. Slowly incorporate the two eggs, vanilla, salt, and lemon zest. 

3. Slowly incorporate the powdered sugar. 

4. Whip together until fluffy. 

4. After 15 minutes of baking the crust, pull it out and top with the gooey butter mixture. 

5. Return to oven to bake for another 40 minutes or until the edges are browning but the inside still feels a little jiggly. It will be puffy, but once it is out, it will deflate some. 

6. Allow to cool completely (for several hours) before dusting with powdered sugar and slicing into bars.