Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cakes

Today I wanted to bake something but didn’t want to deal with cookies or pie, this was kind of in between. It’s from Paula Deen’s "Desserts" cookbook, one of the variations of Ooey Gooey Butter Cakes. I used spice cake mix, and followed the recipe for pumpkin. I read the reviews on FoodNetwork.com but I’ve become skeptical of the opinions. I do think it is a good place to get practical tips (learn "things to do next time" before you make the dish). Most of the positive reviews went along the lines of these cookies replacing pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving. I thought the bars were good but I think I’d still want the "real thing." It’s kind of a cross between pie and a cookie and a cheesecake, all in one. The spice cake flavor was good but a little overpowering. (Paula mentioned using yellow cake mix too.) Next time I think I'll try adding less pumpkin too, so that the cream cheese flavor stands out more.

I was reading Rachael’s November magazine and saw that she has a "Thanksgiving in 60 II" coming up. I’m looking forward to that and seeing what some of the dishes look like on TV. I like her magazine, that it has lots of pictures. I’m one of those people that likes cookbooks that have photos of every dish.