Pumpkin Pie Gooey Butter Cake

I'm very immature.

Really.

I would have said that I'm still a kid at heart, but, I actually am a kid.

So I'm immature.

I still watch Arthur. 

And I still love cotton candy.  (But really, who doesn't?)
 
I still dream about being a girl scout

 I don't like sushi (never have and NEVER will)

I speak pig-latin (and taught my sister too)
Ancay Ouyay peaksay itway?

I've only seen one PG 13 movie in my life (and it was on accident. we didn't know it was violent. and it wasn't even that violent, there was just police officers in it doing dangerous stuff) (BTW it was a totally awesome movie)

I like to stick water balloons in my shirt and walk through the neighborhood to see what people think (seriously, my friend and I did this this summer and every time we walked past someone we would loudly proclaim in a southern accent that we'd eaten one too many thin mints).

And I'm that person who the only bad thing they've ever done is steal fruit snacks while their parents are gone (the scooby doo ones are the best)

The only thing I'm sophisticated at is desserts, and I'm really bad at that too. My idea of fancy is muddy buddies.

But, I do like gooey butter cakes. Those are fancy right?

I tried gooey butter cake last winter and I loved it. Since then I've made 3 different kinds. When I was thinking of desserts for fall, a pumpkin gooey butter cake was the first one on my list!

Gooey butter cakes are really, REALLY gooey. The key is to let them cool all the way, then they get really fudgey and not just gloppy all over the place, and it is AMAZING.

The first time I made this the pumpkin made the base too cakey and not gooey enough, kind of like how pumpkin cookies end up being cakey instead of chewy. I made it a second time with some adaptions and it was perfect!

This is a delicious fall twist on the New Orleans treat, you've got to try this during the holiday season!

Pumpkin Pie Gooey Butter Cake 
The New Orlean's treat get's a fall twist, pumpkin pie style! This gooey butter cake is a quick no-fail recipe, perfect for fall! 
4 stars ****  
Ingredients:

• 1 box yellow cake mix
• 3/4 cup pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie mix)
• 2 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1/2 cup flour
• 3 eggs
• 1 1/2 tablespoons pumpkin pie spice
• 1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened
• 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla

Directions: 

1.  Preheat oven to 350. 
2. Mix together cake mix, butter, pumpkin pie spice, pumpkin, flour and 1 egg (save the other 2!). 
3. Pat into an ungreased 9 x 13 inch cake pan. The batter will be very sticky. 
4. Cream together cream cheese, 2 eggs, powdered sugar and vanilla. Pour over cake mixture, spreading to the edges. 
5. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes until the cream cheese is turning golden brown on the edges. For best results, let cool completely before eating. 

Tips:
*the batter will be very sticky. to help spread it, you can lightly spray your hands with cooking spray (like Pam). once you get the pumpkin dough on the pan but it won't spread, you can try spraying a spoon/spatula with a lot of cooking spray to spread it towards the edges. 
*this will be very gooey when you check with a toothpick, but don't overbake! it is done when the edges are turning golden brown. take it out and let it cool completely to  let it set up.
*if your cream cheese isn't softened then it won't mix well enough and you'll have little chunky cream cheese chunks, so make sure it's softened or use your microwave

My gooey butter cake recipe is one of the easiest ones there is, I use it for all my adaptations and it's never failed me! 

This has the *perfect* texture, gooey pumpkin, flaky cream cheese topping, it's just so good! I wanted to make sure the pumpkin didn't dominate the buttery flavor, so I used yellow cake mix and a tablespoon of butter, which also helped with the texture. 

You seriously need this in your life!