Bars Cookie Recipes with sweetened condensed milk

You’re not surprised I made another gooey bar, are you? No? Good.

Because this lemon version is my favorite gooey bar EVER.

Hi, my name is Dorothy and I have a gooey bar addiction.

I have about 3, 453 versions on this site. Chocolate, Funfetti, Peanut Butter, Pumpkin, and the list goes on. Okay, so not quite 3, 453…but if you could see inside my head, you’d know I wasn’t exaggerating…much.

They are my favorite bar for so many reasons:

1. They’re so easy to make. Cake mix, butter, egg, and sweetened condensed milk. DONE.

2. They’re infallible. Pretty much you can’t mess these up, I promise.

3. They taste amazing. Like cake…but gooey and bar-like.

4. There are so many different flavor combos it’s mind boggling.

Maybe I should change my name to Crazy for Gooey Bars.

Right now? I’m crazy for lemon gooey bars.

I first made these last June for my sister-in-law’s birthday. She looooooves lemon. I always make her some sort of lemon dessert for holidays and celebrations.

I broke the food blogger cardinal rule last June when I made them: I didn’t photograph them. It was a last minute bake and there was no time to cut and take pictures.

(There is only one hard and fast rule about gooey bars: they need to chill and set before you cut them. I KNOW. It’s hard, but if you want pretty bars, you gotta do it. Or, just attack the warm pan with a fork. Whatevs.)

I finally re-made them at Christmas. I made a lot of things at Christmas and when asked what her favorite was, my SIL said “THOSE LEMON BARS!”

I figured it was time to share!

Okay, so let’s rundown the gooey bar in case you’ve never made them.

• Cake mix + egg + butter forms a thick dough. Don’t use the box directions. Just use the cake mix powder and follow my directions.
• Press about 2/3 of the batter into a pan. You don’t have to use foil, but I highly recommend it for this recipe. Sweetened condensed milk is sticky. Spray it well with cooking spray.
• Add whatever mix-ins you like. White chocolate + lemon is amazing, but coconut would also be fab in these.
• You break up the remaining chunks of dough and place it on top of the bars. I like to break off about 1/2-1 tablespoon size pieces and drop them over the top, then lightly press with my hands. Some of the SCM will show through.

Once they’re baked, cool and chill to set, then cut into bars. These freeze well, as long as they are in a single layer. They’ll stick to each other and whatever you put in between the layers.

But if you have any left to freeze I kind of don’t understand you. How is that even possible? Are you related to my husband?

These are my favorite gooey bars yet. Lemon goodness, people!

Lemon Gooey Bars

Yield: 16

Total Time: 45 minutes

These Lemon Gooey Bars are SO EASY and so so good. Start with a cake mix and fill them with super lemony flavor. They're gooey and sweet and perfect lemon bars!

Ingredients:

• 1 box lemon cake mix
• 1/2 cup butter (1 stick), softened
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk (I use fat-free)
• 1/2 cup white chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 9x9 baking pan with foil and spray with cooking spray.
2. Mix butter with a mixer (hand or stand) until smooth. Mix in cake mix and egg; beat until combined. Note: if you use a hand mixer it will take a long time to come together. Just keep on mixing until you get a thick cookie dough.
3. Press 2/3 of the cake mixture in the bottom of the prepared pan. Sprinkle white chocolate chips over the top and drizzle the sweetened condensed milk over the top of the chocolate. Break up the remaining dough and crumble it over the top of the bars. Press lightly to seal.
4. Bake for 28-33 minutes, until slightly browned. Cool completely before cutting. (It helps to refrigerate them after they’ve reached room temperature.)
5. Note: you can do this in a 9x13 pan by using the whole can (14 oz) of sweetened condensed milk and 1 cup of white chocolate chips, but the bars will be thinner. Baking time will also need to be adjusted.

© Crazy for Crust. All images & content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to republish this recipe, please re-write the recipe in your own words, or link back to this post for the recipe.

Sweets from friends:
Chocolate Chip Gooey Bars by Pillsbury
Peppermint Patty Gooey Cake Bars by Inside BruCrew Life
Better than Anything Caramel Stuffed Brownies by Something Swanky