Football season may look a little different this year, but sharing one of your favorite pastimes with your kids is a fun family activity, no matter what. Football games can be long and complicated, so be prepared that your kids may not make it through the whole game. Provide them with bite-sized lessons on how the game works, including what team to cheer for and when. Football-themed snacks are another way to keep them engaged! Here are three delicious cookie recipes that are easy and fun to make.
Chocolate sugar cookies
Shape these yummy cookies into footballs with a cookie cutter or by hand. Then add football laces, your favorite player’s number, or team name with icing.
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup butter, softened
- 1 cup white sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F
- In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar
- Beat in eggs and vanilla, until fluffy
- Slowly incorporate the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt
- Cover and refrigerate the dough for at least one hour or overnight
- Roll dough out to 1/4 inch thick
- Cut into shapes with a cookie cutter, or make your own shape with a butter knife!
- Place cookies 1 inch apart on lightly greased, or parchment-covered cookie sheets
- Bake 6 to 8 minutes and until the edges are golden brown
- Cool completely. Frost and decorate if desired!
Decorating icing
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla or other flavoring extracts
- 2 to 2 1/2 tbsp milk or water
Mix and put into a piping bag or a squeeze bottle (or, you can put it in a ziplock baggie and snip off a tiny piece of the corner – use this as a makeshift piping bag!)
Gingerbread footballs
Enjoy the scent of gingerbread rising in the oven! You can shape the dough into footballs or even gingerbread football players. Then let your kids add fun decorations with icing. Gingerbread cookies tend to be harder than sugar cookies, so you can even sculpt your dough into stadium walls and make a football field!
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 tsp baking soda
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tbsp ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 6 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
- 3/4 cup dark brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup molasses
- 2 tsp vanilla
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°
- In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves
- In a large bowl, beat butter, brown sugar, and egg until well blended and fluffy
- Add molasses and vanilla – mix until fully incorporated
- Gradually stir in dry ingredients until smooth
- Divide dough in half, wrap in plastic, and let stand at room temperature for at least 2 hours – or up to 8 hours
- Grease or line cookie sheets with parchment paper
- Place 1 portion of the dough on a lightly floured surface. Sprinkle flour over the dough and rolling pin. Roll dough to a 1/4-inch thick
- Cut out cookies
- Space cookies 1 1/2-inches apart on your cookie sheet
- Bake for 7-10 minutes
- Allow the cookies to stand until firm enough to move to a wire rack
- Decorate with icing if desired (see recipe above)
Pretzel cookies
Want a super easy but fun and tasty snack? These chocolate covered pretzels are quick to make and will be devoured by your football fans!
Ingredients
- 1 bag pretzels (use whatever type you want – mini, regular, or sticks!)
- 1 12 oz bag semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup white chocolate chips (you can even use dark chocolate or melted peanut butter)
Instructions
- Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper
- Melt semi-sweet chocolate with the vegetable oil in a glass bowl for 30 seconds at a time in a microwave. Stir after every 30 second-interval until the chips are melted – be careful not to burn them!
- Dip one pretzel at a time into the melted chocolate. Use a fork to scoop it out and tap gently to let excess chocolate drizzle off. Place chocolate covered pretzels on the prepared pan, without letting them touch
- Refrigerate for about an hour
- Once they’re chilled, melt the white chocolate (or dark chocolate or peanut butter) in the microwave for 10 seconds at a time. Stir each time until chips are melted
- Pour into a ziplock bag and seal. Cut a tiny corner off and drizzle laces onto your chocolate pretzels
- Refrigerate for 15 minutes and serve!
Make these fun treats before, during, or after your favorite football teams play and enjoy the game even more!