gooey goodness

I have to be honest, I have celebrated countless holidays and enjoyed school being closed, but about 98% of the time, I have no idea why we are celebrating.  Labor Day being no different than the rest, I was feeling a little guilty so I broke down and looked up the origin.  It was short and sweet: Labor Day became a federal holiday in 1894 and was created to pay tribute to the many achievements and contributions of the American Worker.  That's pretty much it in a nutshell.  For me, Labor Day has so many more meanings and memories and has cemented itself as the last summer weekend of sorts.  

Every Labor Day weekend (as with most holiday weekends) my grandma goes to work and makes us a meal that could "feed Cox's army" as she always says.  I don't know who Cox is, but I am not sure his army could handle the abundance of grilled meat, salads, potatoes, vegetables, breads, and most of all deserts.  My grandma cooks for about 5-8 people by making servings for about 20.  I am not complaining one bit - I alone usually eat enough for about three people!  And no matter how full we are - I usually end up groaning on the floor in a fetal position - everyone always has room for desert.  

My grandma has been pumping me up for a whole week about this year's desert selection: Gooey Butter Cake.  Weirdly, I was not really that excited about it (Give me chocolate any day!).  But when I saw this cake...and then tasted this cake...I was one happy camper.  The Gooey Butter cake is 100% Midwestern America.  You can't get this stuff anywhere but here, and I know plenty of people who would go to some extreme lengths to get it.  I'm not sure why I never "got it" before today, but for some reason a light went on in my head - maybe it was the sugar-induced coma that I was slipping into?  No matter what the reason, it was one decadent experience.  And to add to the fun, the recipe came out of an old school Catholic Church Cookbook - straight from the Hill in Saint Louis.  My dad and I read through the book trying to pronounce the awesome/hilarious Italian names while we gobbled up the cake - just to give you an idea: Alline Finocchiaro had great recipes for Tiramisu, Sicilian Steak, and Zesty Potato Salad.  

Overall, this cake is the perfect end-of-summer combo of chewy crust with a gooey, sweet center.  Plus, I am a sucker for anything with a sprinkle of powdered sugar.  Add a scoop of vanilla ice cream and you have yourself pure summer Americana.  Yum!

Gooey Butter Cake

Adapted from "A Taste of the Hill Cookbook"

1 box yellow cake mix
1 stick of butter, melted
3/4 - 1 box of powdered sugar (reserve approximately 1/4 cup to sprinkle over top of cake)
3 eggs
1 package of cream cheese
1 teaspoon vanilla

1. Mix cake mix, 1 egg, melted butter.  Pat into bottom of un-greased 9 x 13-inch glass baking dish.

2. Mix powdered sugar, 2 eggs, cream cheese, and vanilla.  Stir until well mixed and then pour over the top of cake mixture, making sure that the cream cheese mixture covers the edges.

3. Bake at 350 degrees, for approximately 45 minutes.  Sprinkle with remaining powdered sugar and cool.