Cheese Cake Bars

Be they ever so humble looking in their potluck, tinfoil pan and all–do NOT underestimate these Cheese Cake Bars. This is my ace-in-the-hole recipe should I find myself needing something sweet and delicious that feeds a crowd and comes together in just over an hour. This is also the only recipe you will ever see me promote that involves a store bought cake mix. So, I thought I’d better just go ahead and get that out in the open. LOL!

1 stick butter, melted
1 yellow cake mix
4 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
1—8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
2 1/3 c. confectioners sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Melt 1 stick butter in a large mixing bowl, and stir 1 egg into butter with a spatula until well incorporated. Stir cake mix into egg and butter mixture until smooth. Scrape crust mixture with spatula into a 13” x 9” pan. Dampen your palms with a little water to keep crust mixture from sticking to your hands and press evenly into bottom of pan. 
2. Place remaining 3 eggs, vanilla, cream cheese, and confectioners sugar in the same large mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer until smooth, 2-3 min. Pour filling evenly over crust mixture in pan.
3. Bake 40 min. until light to medium golden brown. Cool completely on wire rack; slice into squares and serve.