Make sure to scroll down!

I made several posts today (well, three, total). I finished both a pair of socks and a romper this weekend, and posted them each in their own post. Scroll down to check 'em out.

Now for the "regular" post :)

First, I want to make sure to thank Mrs. Wilt of The Sparrow's Nest for my new look. She's been working with me for a couple of weeks now to make sure it was exactly what I wanted, and I'm thrilled with the new look.

Since my last post was on pumpkin it seems only appropriate to continue on a theme:

Pumpkin Gooey Butter Bars

(I swear it's pumpkin!)

One tray is to take to a friend's house tomorrow, one is to take to work with me tomorrow. (No, not for coworkers, but for the card players who come in every Tuesday night. To hear them talk, you'd think they eat once a week.)

I haven't made these in a while, and I'd forgotten how wonderful they are. The last time I made them, I made them in August or some other extremely hot month--not a good idea. The bars got moldy quite quickly. They are extremely moist (as the name implies), so if you don't plan on eating them quickly or if you plan to make them during a hot month, make sure you store them in the fridge.

This is a semi-cheater recipe: the crust calls for a box of cake mix. As you know (well, maybe you didn't, but now you do), I don't normally "do" cheater recipes. If it calls for a "box" of this or a "can" of this, I'm not very likely to try it. I do have a couple "cheater" recipes in my repertoire, though, that are just too good to be snobby about. This is defiantely one of them!

Edited to add: I had to run to town to get the cream cheese for these this morning. I had planned to buy the generic cheese, of course. Much to my glee, the Philadelphia brand was on sale, 4 @ $5. Of course, I whipped out my calculator to make sure it was really a deal. Sure enough, four packages of the generic would have been $5.80. I feel incredibly dorky to be so excited about an $0.80 savings, but I know some of you will understand!

Pumpkin Gooey Butter Bars

Crust:
1 package yellow cake mix
1 egg
1 stick (8 tbsp) butter, melted

Filling:
1 (8 oz.) packaged cream cheese, softened
1 cup pumpkin (or, one 15 oz. can)
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 stick (8 tbsp) butter, melted
16 oz. powdered sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp clove
1/4 tsp allspice
dash salt

To make crust, combine ingredients; mix well. Pat into greased cake pan.

To make filling, beat cream cheese and pumpkin until smooth. Add eggs, vanilla, and butter; beat together. Add remaining ingredients. Mix well.

Spread over crust; bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes. Do not over bake--center should still be a little gooey.