Red Velvet Gooey Butter Bars

These Red Velvet Gooey Butter Bars are moist red velvet cake topped with a buttery cream cheese layer. Great for Halloween, Christmas, Valentine’s Day, or the Fourth of July.

RED VELVET GOOEY BUTTER BARS

To be honest, I haven’t always been a fan of red velvet. Here’s why. I like to know what I’m eating and red velvet to me seemed to be a cake with an identity crisis.

Was is chocolate cake with red food coloring? Or plain old cake with some chocolate in it? What is it supposed to taste like?

Deborah, author of The Red Velvet Lover’s Cookbook, said that it’s butter cake with a hint of cocoa. Now that we’ve got that established, let’s dig in. These Red Velvet Gooey Butter Bars are such a treat. Even my husband, a self proclaimed red velvet hater, loved them.

Reading the intro of the cookbook I realized Deborah and I share a common love for the movie Steel Magnolias where we both saw a red velvet cake for the first time.

I don’t think I’ve ever made it through that movie without bawling and it has so many one-liners that I quote constantly.

The Red Velvet Lover’s Cookbook includes 50 recipes for red velvet creations, with everything from whoopie pies and doughnuts, to hot chocolate, ice cream and even a Baked Alaska. The pictures in this book are phenomenal.

Start by making your red velvet base for these bars. It’s so pretty.

If you’re not familiar with gooey butter cakes, it’s a cake base topped with a cream cheese, powdered sugar, butter layer. Basically frosting – baked on the cake. Genius.

And since red velvet is best paired with a cream cheese frosting, a gooey butter cake makes perfect sense.

The top bakes to a golden color. These bars are show stoppers. They look like this in person too, I promise!

OTHER DESSERT RECIPES:

• Gooey Butter Cake
• Red velvet Cake Mix cinnamon rolls
• Red Velvet Cheesecakes
• Red Velvet Brownies

Red Velvet Gooey Butter Bars

4.50 from 8 votes

These Red Velvet Gooey Butter Bars are moist red velvet cake topped with a buttery cream cheese layer. Great for Halloween, Christmas, Valentine's Day, or the Fourth of July.

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 10 minutes mins

Cook Time: 45 minutes mins

Total Time: 55 minutes mins

Servings: 16 bars

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 2 Tablespoons natural unsweetened cocoa powder, (like Hersheys or Nestle)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon table salt
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup 2 sticks unsalted butter, melted
• 2 tablespoons buttermilk, (see Note for Substitution)
• 1 tablespoon red liquid food coloring
• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 cups confectioners' sugar, plus extra for dusting

Instructions

 

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x13-inch dish with non-stick cooking spray.
• Whisk the flour, granulated sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl to combine. Add 1 egg, 1/2 cup of the melted butter, the buttermilk, and the red food coloring. Mix to form a dough. Press into the bottom of a baking dish.
• Beat the cream cheese in a large bowl with an electric mixer until smooth. Beat in the remaining 2 eggs, the vanilla, and the remaining 1/2 cup melted butter. Add the confectioners' sugar and beat until the mixture is creamy. Pour over the crust.
• Bake for about 40 minutes, being careful not to overbake. The center should still be a little but gooey. Cool completely. Dust with confectioners' sugar., then cut into 16 bars. Store in the refrigerator.

Notes

*I don't always have buttermilk on hand so you can substitute the 2 tablespoons of buttermilk in this recipe by pouring 2 tablespoons of milk in a bowl. Technically we need .375 teaspoon of either milk or white vinegar for this recipe. I would add a scant 1/2 teaspoon of milk or white vinegar to the milk and let it sit for 5 minutes. That's all!
Source: Red Velvet Lover's Cookbook from Taste and Tell | http://www.tasteandtellblog.com/]
Posted with permission from Taste and Tell

Cuisine: American

Course: Dessert

Author: Christy Denney

Christy Denney

Christy is the voice behind The Girl Who Who Ate Everything! She is no stranger to making meals that kids and adults will love. She grew up in Mesa, Arizona as the youngest of ten kids. She can always be found in her kitchen with music playing and cooking with her kids. She published her first cookbook in 2014. She loves party food that gets the conversations going!

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