Cook-venture: Strawberry Gooey Butter Cookies

I've had a lot of foodventures lately, and I think that's because I'm determined to be happy and enjoy my final semester in Chapel Hill. I'll only be moving to Durham next year (~20 minutes away), but it won't be the same. My friends will be all across North Carolina. What better way to bring people together than with food?

Anyways, I first had these cookies when a friend made them and they are my first "via Pinterest" creation - and it's SO EASY!

Preheat the oven to 350 F. All you need is this box of cake mix (I believe any cake mix will do... but they they wouldn't be strawberry cookies):

1/2 cup of butter (2 sticks), 1 block of cream cheese (I used Neufchâtel), and an egg - all room temperature so they mix together easier. 

Go ahead and spend a few hundred bucks on a standmixer just for this recipe. Beat together the butter and cream cheese. Once that's done, add the egg.

Slowly add in the cake mix as the beater is on low. This dough is VERY sticky. Stick it in the fridge for ~30 minutes to help. 

Now I get to feature my new toy - my Silpat! It's a lovely nonstick silicone mat. And it's made in France. 

Scoop out the dough, using about half the size of the clumps I've made (my cookies were way too big!). Put in the oven until the dough has set (don't want it to be overbaked). I would say about 10-15 minutes, but it may be different with smaller cookies.

I don't have a final picture, but just imagine they looked like this: 

This picture is also from the website I got the recipe from: http://cookiesandcups.com/strawberry-gooey-butter-cookies/