Butter a 9×13 pan, (or prepare with baking spray), and preheat oven to 350.

For the Crust:

Combine dry ingredients:

2 cups flour

1 cup powdered sugar

1 Tbsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

(or you can just substitute a dry yellow cake mix, with or without pudding mix in it)

To the dry ingredients, add:

2 beaten eggs

1 stick of melted butter (NO Substitute!).

Mix well and pat firmly into the prepared pan to form the buttery cookie crust.

For the Custard:

Beat an 8 oz pkg of cream cheese until smooth

Add:

2 cups powdered sugar

2 beaten eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 Tbsp lemon juice

2 Tbsp flour.  (these last 2 are opt.)

Beat again until smooth and creamy.  Pour onto crust, evenly distribute.

Bake for about 40 minutes or until golden brown delicious (GBD as my boys say).  Top with powdered sugar ONLY WHEN COOL.  Note:  a one pound box of powdered sugar fills the needs of this recipe perfectly 🙂

This makes a wonderful Sunday morning sweet bread.  Now … “the Rest of the Story”…. as Paul Harvey would say!  My mother usually allowed us to bake (or buy) some form of cheese danish, strudel, butter braids with custard, cheese cake or gooey butter cake for Sunday mornings in my German neighborhood of south St Louis.  This was very common in our area.  These, along with a bag of hot soft pretzels (Gus’ Pretzels were sold outside of every Catholic Church right next to the Sunday newspaper) for the walk/drive home,  were to share with the shut-ins along our street.  We would eagerly trade pretzels and sweets and newspapers for the sweet kisses and flowers or little penny crafts that the old ladies generously bestowed in blessing.  We rarely had desserts during the week, only on Sundays and Solemn Feast Days.  We were taught that the sweetness of Sunday as the Day of Resurrection, the New Sabbath Covenant, deserved our best in charity and rest, in food and clothing, in honor of our Risen Lord and King.  The grand Sunday afternoon meal with Grandma and cousins, the news of who needed prayers and who had been blessed, would make your daily penance and  fastings, weekday masses of thanksgiving and petition, even more powerful.  These days we spend Sundays with friends and neighbors  from the Parish instead of our extended families, as everyone becomes more scattered.  A truly Universal Church in unity of heart and intercession! Saturday evening, our CCL group had much that feel to it!  We pray that the group continues to grow with leaps and bounds this year … All Praise Be to Jesus Christ – Now and Forever!