Chocolate Shortbread Footballs Recipes

CHOCOLATE SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• Make the cookies: Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven; preheat to 350 degrees F. Beat the butter, egg yolk, vanilla, salt and cloves in a large bowl with a mixer on medium speed until creamy, about 2 minutes. Reduce the mixer speed to low; beat in the confectioners' sugar and cocoa powder until combined, then beat in the flour in two batches until combined.
• Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface and dust with flour. Gently knead until soft but not sticky. Reflour the surface, if necessary, and roll out the dough until slightly thicker than 1/4 inch. Cut out shapes using 3-inch cookie cutters. Gently gather and reroll the scraps. (If the dough is too soft to work with, refrigerate until firm.) Arrange the cutouts about 2 inches apart on 2 unlined baking sheets.
• Bake, switching the pans halfway through, until the cookies are firm, about 20 minutes. Let cool 3 minutes on the pans, then transfer to racks to cool completely.
• Make the icing: Whisk the confectioners' sugar, vanilla and 1 tablespoon milk in a small bowl until smooth. Gradually stir in up to 1 more tablespoon milk until the icing is thick but pourable. Spoon the icing into a small resealable plastic bag and snip off a corner. Pipe the icing on the cookies, then sprinkle with sanding sugar. Let set, about 10 minutes.

CHOCOLATE SHORTBREAD COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).
• Mix flour and cocoa powder together in a bowl.
• Beat butter in a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer until creamy. Add sugar and vanilla extract; mix well. Mix in flour mixture gradually, 1/2 cup at a time, until incorporated; dough will resemble damp sand.
• Press dough firmly into a 9x13-inch baking pan. Cut into 1x2-inch rectangles. Prick each rectangle a few times lightly with a fork.
• Bake in the preheated oven until top looks dry and edges start to pull away from the sides of the pan, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool before lifting out of the pan.

FANTASY FOOTBALLS

Steps:

• Add something sweet to your Super Bowl menu, like these chocolate footballs! Just combine 4 cups crumbled chocolate cake with 1/4 cup frosting and shape into 2-inch footballs using damp hands (add more frosting if the mixture is too dry). Insert a lollipop stick into each. Freeze until firm, about 30 minutes, then reshape to smooth out any imperfections. Dip in 8 ounces melted milk chocolate, place on a parchment-lined baking sheet and refrigerate until set, 15 minutes. Draw laces and stripes with white frosting.