Superbowl Cookies -- Oreo Style

These cookies will probably post too late for people to use it this year, but maybe they'll be useful next football season. :)

Superbowl Cookies -- Oreo Style

Ingredients:
20 Oreo cookies
2-1/2 ounces cream cheese, softened
7 squares sweetened chocolate
white icing

Finely crush the Oreo cookies. With a pastry blender, mash the cream cheese into the cookie crumbs.

Using a heaping tablespoonful at a time, shape the cookies into footballs. Placed on tray lined with waxed paper. Refrigerate at least ten minutes.

Melt the chocolate squares in a small bowl. Dip the football cookies into the chocolate until coated. Return the waxed paper.

When the chocolate hardens, use the white icing to decorate the cookies so that they look more like footballs. Refrigerate cookies until ready to eat.

Yields: about 12 cookies

Filled Football Cookies

I realize this cookie recipe will be posted too late for most people to make it for this year's Superbowl, but as we all know, what's put on the Internet, stays on the Internet. So this will be around for plenty of future tailgating parties. :)

If you're like me and don't have a football-shaped cookie cutter, you can improvise by making a pattern for yourself. Just cut a piece of cardboard in the shape of a football. Cover it with aluminum foil so that it won't stick to the dough. When you're ready to cut out your footballs, place the pattern on the dough and cut around it.

I've made these cookies in three different sizes. The first time I made a pattern that was 3 1/2 inches long. The cookies were too big. The second time I used a 2-inch pattern; this was better, but it took a long time to cut out these bite-size cookies. The third size I tried was 2 1/2 inches. If I make these cookies again, I think I'd use the 2 1/2-inch size.

In case you're wondering, the flavor is a nice mix of chocolate and cinnamon--kind of reminds me of Mexican hot chocolate.

Filled Football Cookies

Ingredients:
1 cup butter or margarine (2 sticks)
1 cup brown sugar
1 large egg
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
2 1/2 cups flour
1/3 cup cocoa
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 or 2 batches of the Perfect Icing for Piping

In a small dish, microwave the butter for 30 seconds at 50% power to soften it.

In a mixer, cream together the softened butter and the brown sugar. Add the sugar and cinnamon. Beat until fluffy. On low speed, blend in the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and almond extract.

Split dough in half. Wrap each half in waxed paper and refrigerate for an hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

On surface dusted with flour, roll out dough to 1/8 inch. Cut out dough with cookie cuter and place on cookie sheet that has been greased or lined with parchment paper. Bake cookies at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Remove from cookie sheet and cool on rack.

When cookies have cooled, make at least one batch of my Perfect Icing for Piping (click here for the recipe). If you like lots of filling in your filled cookies, make two batches.

Pipe the filling onto the backside of one cookie. Top with another cookie. Use a small tip to pipe laces onto the top cookie.