It is no secret that I don’t like football. This might be hard to imagine being that I hail from Pittsburgh, the Steeler capital of the world, but it is true. I tried to like it, I really did.There was a year, I think it was 2012, I really tried. I had friends and family on my side, encouraging me, giving me insight into the players, info on the rules, but it didn’t help, nothing helped. I just could not get into the game! Anyway, the moral of the story is I don’t like football, but sometimes I can get tricked into having friends over to watch it, or tricked into going somewhere to watch a game. How, you might ask? With the promise of food and beer of course. Food, the reason you are here! It is definitely the reason I am here.
So, yea, food and beer are awesome, and with the Super Bowl only days away, it is a great excuse for fun football themed baked goods! Who doesn’t want football cupcakes or brownies? I mean there is nothing cuter than themed baked goods. Ok, that’s a lie, there are tons of these cuter, like a baby animal yawning, or corgis, but that is another post for another day. Back to the subject, themed desserts are super fun and some, like footballs, are wayyyyy easier than you think.
What desserts can you make into a football? The list is endless. You can do cookies, brownies, cupcakes, cakes, cake pops, chocolates, if you can shape it, you can football it.
Today we are focusing on this cookie cake, because honestly, it is redonculous. I know I say that a lot, but this is serious, this rivals a certain Mrs., no joke. It is amazing and perfect for any occasion, but also, it EASILY turns into a beautiful football cookie cake – what?!?
The actual cookie cake recipe is really easy. Pretty much the same process as cookies. So let’s skip ahead to the making the cookie into a football part.
I recommend using a springform pan for baking this bad boy, it will make the rest of the process SOOOO much easier. Once the cake is baked and cooled you can simply release the sides of the pan so you are left with just the cookie cake sitting atop the bottom of the pan.
Once the cake is released from the pan, take a knife, one that is bigger than the length of the cake. I used a large serrated bread knife. Then remove a 1 inch sliver of cake from the middle of the cake. See below. This sliver of cake is great for snacking while you wait for the game to start.
Once you remove the middle section, push together the two parts of the cake that are left – it doesn’t have to be perfect because frosting will cover eveyrthing. See below.
Now that the cookie cake is a nice oval shape, next comes frosting. Follow the directions below for making the frosting. Once made, frost the entire cake with the chocolate frosting. Then put the small amount of non-chocolate frosting into a piping bag (or ziploc bag snipping off a corner to become a make-shift piping bag). Start by piping 3 lines. The 1st should be in the middle, along the seam of the cake (which is hidden under chocolate frosting), this is the start of the laces. The other 2 will be along either end, make these perpendicular to the 1st one. Lastly, pipe a few short lines perpendicular to the middle line, crossing over the middle line, these are the finishing touches to the laces. See below for the finished product.
Football Cookie Cake
Cookie Cake
Equipment
- 9" Springform Pan
- Stand Mixer (or hand mixer) is helpful but not necessary
- 2 Large Bowls
Ingredients
Cookie Cake
- ¾ cup Unsalted Butter softened
- 1 cup Brown Sugar
- 1 large Egg
- 1 Egg Yolk
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 2 cups All Purpose Flour
- 2 tsp Cornstarch
- 1 tsp Baking Soda
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1 ½ cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
Frosting
- 1 ¾ cup Powdered Sugar
- ½ cup Unsalted Butter softened
- 2 tbsp Heavy Cream
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- Salt to tast
Instructions
Cookie Cake
- Preheat oven to 350°F and prep your 9-inch springform pan (or pie dish) by spraying with cooking spray
- In a large bowl, using either a hand-held mixer or stand mixer, beat the butter for about a minute on medium speed.
- Once butter is smooth and creamy add in the brown sugar. Beat on medium speed for about 1 minute. Scraping down the bowl as needed. The goal is to not see any visible butter.
- Add in egg, egg yolk, and vanilla. Mix on medium-high speed until incorporated.
- Add in chocolate chips. Mix until fully dispersed.
- In a separate bowl, combine dry ingredients.
- With the mixer on low, gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients.
- Transfer dough to prepared pan. Using clean hands or a spatula, press the dough into the pan making sure it is as even as possible.
- Cover the pan with tin foil and bake for 15 minutes.
- Remove the foil and bake for an additional 10 minutes, or until the cake is done (I like to test by sticking a toothpick into the middle of the cake, if it comes out clean then the cake is done).
- Once done, remove from the oven and set the pan on a cooling rack. After the cake has fully cooled, loosen the sides of the springform pan and transfer to a cutting board.
Frosting
- Start by sifting the powdered sugar, this will help avoid lumps.
- Using a stand mixer (or a hand mixer), beat the butter on medium/medium-high for about 2 minutes.
- Gradually, with the mixer on low, add in the powdered sugar and heavy cream, alternating between the two.
- Add in the vanilla and beat on high for about 2 minutes.
- Set aside about 1/2 cup of the frosting. This will be what we use for the laces on the football.
- Sift the cocoa powder and slowly add to the frosting still in the mixing bowl. Mix on low until incorporated and then bump up the speed. If the frosting seems too thick add a splash of heavy cream.
- Once combined, add a pinch of salt.
- Now it's time to decorate! You can do like me and decorate it like a football, or you can do any design you want, the sky is the limit.
