Football Chocolate Sugar Cookies

If you are like me you are enamored by all of these super cool cookies decorators, but you don’t have near the skill level as they do. Have no fear, I have an easy chocolate sugar cookie recipe for you and to make it even cooler, we are going to make them in the shape of footballs. Yes! This cookie project is great for your Superbowl party and the cool thing is, you don’t have to worry about it being perfect. In an effort to rid myself of my perfectionist ways, I threw caution to the wind and decided that these didn’t have to look like a perfect football, they just needed to taste good. Mission accomplished! You may be asking, why chocolate sugar cookies? It’s simple, I didn’t want to flood a regular sugar cookie with brown icing. I’m telling you this project is awesomely easy! Use a cool icing pin to add the laces and we’re golden! Touchdown, extra point, you get the picture!

Tools:

Wilton Football Cookie Cutters

Wilton Icing Pen

Chocolate Sugar Cookie Recipe slightly adapted from Joy of Baking :

2 3/4 cups all purpose flour

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder ( instead of Dutch Processed)

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1 3/4 cups granulated sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Directions:

Whisk the dry ingredients ~ flour, cocoa powder, salt, and baking powder in a large bowl.

In another bowl, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy . Add the eggs, one at a time, incorporating after each addition. Add the vanilla; mixing until combined. Lastly at the flour mixture to the butter and sugar mixture and beat until the dough is a smooth texture.

Divide the dough in half and wrap each half in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for an hour or until the dough is firm enough to roll.

While the dough is chilling, preheat the oven to 350 degrees with the rack in the center of the oven. Prepare two cookie sheets lined with parchment paper.

Remove one half of the chilled dough from the refrigerator and, on a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to 1/4 inch. thickness. You may have to turn the dough to ensure it doesn’t stick to the surface of your counter. Cut out the cookies with your football cookie cutters. Dust your cookie cutter with flour while you are cutting the cookies out so the dough doesn’t stick. Place the cookies on the baking sheets and put them in the refrigerate to chill for about 10 minutes.

Bake cookies for about 10 –12 minutes or until they are firm around the edges. Once the cookies are done, cool them on a baking sheet them move them to a wire rack.

Once the cookies are cool, decorate them by adding the football laces using your icing pen.

The Southern C contributor Tamara Eckles, is the founder of Jem of the South, the place where you “Discover Something Sweet!” Find out more at www.jemofthesouth.com.