Football Cookies

Your next game day party needs these fun homemade Football Cookies! Soft and fudgy chocolate sugar cookies decorated to look like frosted footballs are top scorers at the Super Bowl dessert table.

 

Football season is in the air, and I’m all about staying on theme with these chocolatey football cookies. Soft and buttery, these cut-out chocolate sugar cookies are topped with creamy homemade chocolate frosting, and every bite melts in your mouth. They’re fun and easy to make with just a few basic pantry staples and even more fun to decorate. Learn how to make these fun and festive football cookies just in time for the big game!

Why You’ll Love These Football Sugar Cookies

• Perfect texture. These cut-out cookies are soft and chewy, with buttery, crisp edges. The dough is easy to make and doesn’t require any chilling.
• Extra chocolatey. Sure, you can make Classic Sugar Cookies to decorate like footballs. But these chocolate cookies are irresistibly sweet and fudgy, and happen to be the perfect color even before they’re frosted.
• Versatile. Serve these football cookies as an easy Super Bowl dessert next to all your favorite party snacks on game day. They’re even make-ahead friendly!

Ingredients Needed

Below is a quick overview of the easy ingredients needed to make your chocolate football cookies. Remember to scroll to the recipe card at the end of the post for the exact amounts and recipe details.

• Butter – Softened before you start.
• Sugar
• Egg
• Milk
• Vanilla – For the best flavor, use real vanilla extract.
• Flour
• Cocoa powder – Natural unsweetened cocoa powder is best.
• Baking powder
• Salt
• Chocolate frosting – I include my recipe for Easy Chocolate Frosting, but you can also use store-bought chocolate buttercream.
• White frosting – Or white decorating gel. 

How to Make Football Cookies

Making these adorable football sugar cookies couldn’t be easier. You don’t even need to chill the dough!

• Prepare the cookie dough. First, cream together the butter and sugar, followed by milk, vanilla, and egg. Mix in flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt to form the dough.
• Roll and cut out the dough. Next, roll the cookie dough out on a clean surface dusted with cocoa powder (this way, the cookies will stay brown). Using a football-shaped cookie cutter, cut out the dough.
• Bake. Arrange the cut-out sugar cookies on a baking sheet and bake at 400ºF for 6-8 minutes. Let the cookies cool on the pan for a bit before moving them to a wire rack.

Decorating Football Cookies

When your cookies are cooled completely, they’re ready to decorate! You can pipe the white laces directly onto the cooled chocolate sugar cookies, or you can make a quick and easy chocolate frosting.

• Make the frosting. Whisk together the chocolate frosting ingredients until the frosting is smooth and spreadable.
• Frost the cookies. Use an offset spatula to spread frosting over each cookie. Afterward, use Vanilla Frosting or white decorating gel to pipe the laces.
• Enjoy! Get munching, or make sure to let the frosting harden before storing these cookies airtight.

Tips and Variation Ideas

The following are some easy tips and tricks to keep in mind when making football cookies from scratch.

• Use room-temperature butter. Softened butter is a must when making the cookie dough and chocolate frosting for this recipe. Not only does softened butter combine more smoothly with the other ingredients, but starting with room-temperature butter helps to keep the sugar cookies from spreading too much as they bake.
• For darker cookies, dust your work surface with dark or Dutch-processed cocoa powder before you roll out your cookie dough.
• Don’t overbake. For soft, chewy sugar cookies, make sure that take the cookies out of the oven once they’re just set in the center and a little underbaked. Overbaking leads to dry, crunchy cookies.
• Add flavoring. You can change up the flavor profile in these cookies by adding your choice of flavoring extracts. In place of vanilla, try peppermint or rum extract.

Can I Make Drop Cookies Instead?

Certainly. If you don’t have a cookie cutter, you can make your footballs as drop cookies instead. Use a cookie scoop if you have one, and adjust the baking time to 10-12 minutes depending on the thickness of your cookies.

What to Serve With Football Cookies

It’s football season, after all. In our house, that calls for SNACKS! Here are some easy game day appetizers and more fun food ideas to serve alongside a platter of frosted football cookies. Don’t forget to wash them down with an ice-cold Beer Margarita! 

• Bacon Cheddar Ranch Dip
• Chili Cheese Dip and Homemade Tortilla Chips
• Stuffed Mushrooms 
• Philly Cheesesteak Sliders
• Bacon Wrapped Smokies
• Boneless Chicken Wings 

How to Store

If you’ve frosted your cookies, allow the frosting to harden before you store them. There’s no need to refrigerate sugar cookies. Keep the cookies in an airtight container on the countertop for up to 1 week.

Can I Freeze Chocolate Sugar Cookies?

Yes, you can freeze these football cookies either frosted or unfrosted in airtight containers for up to 2-3 months. Thaw them at room temperature before serving.

Can I Make the Cookie Dough Ahead? 

Yes! You can store the chocolate sugar cookie dough in advance to get a headstart on your football cookies. Simply prepare the cookie dough as directed, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate it up to 2 days ahead. You can also freeze the prepared dough for up to 3 months. When you’re ready to bake, thaw out the dough in the fridge and roll it out.

More Easy Cookie Recipes

• Pilgrim Hat Cookies
• Frosted Sugar Cookies
• Pumpkin Sugar Cookies
• Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies
• Snickerdoodle Cookies

Continue to Content

Yield: approx. 36 cookies

Football Cookies

Print

Make fudgy frosted football cookies for your next game day party! These decorated chocolate sugar cookies are a fun and easy Super Bowl dessert.

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 8 minutes

Total Time 23 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 whole large egg
• 3 Tablespoons milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder + more for dusting
• 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt

Frosting

• ½ cup butter, softened
• 3-4 cups powdered sugar
• ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 Tablespoons milk
• ¼ cup white frosting (or decorating gel)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400º F.
2. Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
3. Add in the milk, vanilla and egg. Mix until everything is fully incorporated.
4. Mix in the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt until it is combined and an even brown color.
5. Roll the dough, about ¼ inch thick, onto a surface dusted with cocoa powder. Use a cookie cutter to cut out footballs or your desired shape. Place onto a baking sheet.
6. Bake for 6-8 minutes, until the tops appear dry and set.
7. Remove from oven, and let cook for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
8. Meanwhile, prepare the frosting. In a large bowl mix together all of the ingredients until creamy and well blended. Adjust milk and sugar to get a spreadable consistency.
9. Once completely cool top with chocolate frosting and pipe on the laces to make footballs. You can also just pipe the laces directly on the cookies if you don’t want to use chocolate frosting.
10. Let the frosting harden before storing in an air tight container.
    

Notes

• You can make drop cookies if you don’t have a cookie cutter. Bake for 10-12 minutes depending on thickness. Let cool and frost.
• Use cocoa powder instead of flour so the cookies stay brown. If you use a dark or Dutch-processed cocoa powder for dusting, your cookies will appear darker.

Nutrition Information

Yield

36

Serving Size

1
Amount Per Serving Calories 282Total Fat 8gSaturated Fat 5gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 3gCholesterol 26mgSodium 133mgCarbohydrates 51gFiber 1gSugar 43gProtein 2g

Nutrition Disclaimer: All information presented on this site is intended for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and any nutritional information shared on dinnersdishesanddesserts.com should only be used as a general guideline.

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Erin S

Welcome to Dinners, Dishes, & Desserts where my love of food meets my busy life. My name is Erin and I’m a casual home cook who loves to feed people. On this blog, you’ll find hundreds of quick and easy recipes made mostly from scratch. My days are spent in the kitchen, creating new recipes to share with family and friends.

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