Gooey Butter Cookies

So, I'm on this St. Louis pride kick.  Maybe it's the fact that I'm realizing I will never permanently live there again and I am subconsciously devastated about it. Hahaha.  Or maybe it's that I am procrastinating packing up the entire contents of my apartment, and cooking distinctive foods that I grew up with for the sir in my life seems a reasonable distraction.  I'm guessing the latter.  Definitely the latter.  Plus, after looking up a recipe for gooey butter cookies and seeing how simple they are, I couldn't not make them.  These gooey little cookies really do possess everything so awesomely divine about the cake version, that chewy golden crust, a sticky sweet center, and the crackle dusted with powdered sugar all so synonymous with the real thing.  So, try them at least once and make another St. Louisan proud ;)

Cream Cheese Icing

• 8 oz cream cheese (softened)
• 2 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla

In a bowl mix all ingredients on low until incorporated, and then medium-high until desired consistency.

Notes:

• Feel free to use reduced fat cream cheese to make it healthier.
• A favorite during autumn is to use Philadelphia pumpkin cream cheese in place of regular.
  

Yields about enough to ice 24 cupcakes.