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These Football Cookies are a fun and festive treat for game day! Soft homemade sugar cookies are decorated with brown icing and classic white football laces for an adorable dessert that’s perfect for football parties, tailgating, or the Super Bowl.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
These football cookies are soft, buttery, and so much fun to make. The simple football design makes them perfect for any football party, and you can make them ahead of time so you’re not decorating cookies at the last minute.
If you’re looking for savory game-day recipes, try my creamy Rotel Dip, or these crispy Bacon Wrapped Shrimp, Bacon Wrapped Smokies, and Jalapeno Poppers.
Table of Contents
Ingredients You Will Need
- sugar: Adds sweetness and helps create the soft texture of the sugar cookies.
- butter, softened: Softened butter creams easily with the sugar and gives the cookies a rich, buttery flavor.
- egg: Helps bind the cookie dough together.
- vanilla: Adds a little extra flavor to the cookies. Try this Homemade Vanilla for this recipe!
- all purpose flour: Gives the cookie dough its structure and makes it easy to roll and cut into football shapes.
- royal icing and gel food coloring
For a full list of ingredients, find the recipe card below.
Royal Icing
You can make the royal icing from scratch using the ingredients below, or save time by using a royal icing mix. Just prepare the mix according to the package directions, then divide and color as directed below.
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons meringue powder
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- ½–¾ cup water
- 2 tablespoons corn syrup
- Brown food coloring
To make the icing: Mix the powdered sugar and meringue powder together. Add the vanilla, corn syrup, and enough water to reach a smooth decorating consistency. Divide the icing into two bowls, leaving a small amount of white for the football details. Add brown food coloring to the remaining icing and mix until you reach the desired football-brown color.
Variations
- Use team colors: Add a little icing in your favorite team’s colors to make these cookies even more fun for game day.
- Make mini cookies: Use a smaller football cookie cutter to make bite-sized football cookies for a party platter.
- Try different shapes: Use the same cookie dough to make football helmets, jerseys, or other game-day shapes.
- Make Super Bowl cookies: Add team colors, numbers, or other decorations to customize the cookies for your Super Bowl party.
How to Make Football Cookies
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- Add the softened butter and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat together until smooth and creamy.
- Mix in the egg and vanilla until well combined.
- Switch to the paddle attachment and add the flour. Continue mixing until the dough comes together and begins pulling away from the sides of the bowl. If the dough becomes too thick for the mixer, finish bringing it together by hand.
- Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and roll it out until it’s about 1/4 inch thick. Use a football-shaped cookie cutter to cut the dough. Gather and reroll the scraps, then continue cutting cookies until you’ve used as much of the dough as possible.
- Carefully transfer the cookies to the prepared baking sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the edges are set and the centers are no longer shiny. Let the cookies cool completely before decorating.
- Outline each football cookie with the brown icing, then fill in the center. Use a toothpick or scribe tool to gently smooth the icing and remove any air bubbles. Let the brown icing set for about 30 minutes. Use the reserved white icing to pipe the laces and stripes onto each football.
Tips
- Don’t overbake: Watch the cookies closely toward the end of the baking time. They’re ready when the edges are set and the centers are no longer shiny. Baking them too long can make the cookies hard.
- Cool before decorating: Make sure the cookies are completely cool before adding the icing so it doesn’t melt or run.
- Start with a small opening: When cutting the tip of your piping bag, start with a very small hole. You can always make it bigger if you need more icing to flow through.
- Check the icing consistency: The icing should settle back into itself within about 12-15 seconds. Add a little water if it’s too thick or powdered sugar if it’s too thin.
- Let the brown icing set: Give the brown icing about 30 minutes to set before adding the white laces and stripes. This helps keep the football details looking clean.
FAQs
Yes! These are a great make-ahead dessert for a football party. Bake and decorate the cookies ahead of time, then give the icing plenty of time to completely set before storing or stacking them.
You can use a football-shaped template instead. Place the template over the rolled cookie dough and carefully cut around it with a sharp knife.
Use a spatula to lift some icing and let it fall back into the bowl. It should settle and smooth back into the icing within about 12-15 seconds. If it disappears too quickly, add a little powdered sugar. If it doesn’t settle, add a small amount of water.
Cookie Storage
Let the decorated football cookies sit at room temperature for about 24 hours so the icing can completely set before stacking them. Once the icing has set, store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week. You can also freeze the cookies in an airtight container for up to three months.
More Easy Game Day Recipes
Smoker and BBQ Recipes
Smoked Chicken Breast
Appetizers
Rotel Dip
Game Day Recipes
Game Day Recipes
Appetizers
Jalapeno Poppers
If you have tried this recipe or any others from Celebrating Simply, I’d love it if you would leave a ⭐ star rating and share your thoughts in the ✍️ comments below. Your feedback means a lot!
Football Cookies
Equipment
- Mixing Bowl
- Baking Sheet
- Parchment Paper
- Cookie Cutter
Ingredients
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 2 cups royal icing
Optional: Gel Food Coloring to make football brown or team colors
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- Add the softened butter and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat together until smooth and creamy.
- Mix in the egg and vanilla until well combined.
- Switch to the paddle attachment and add the flour. Continue mixing until the dough comes together and begins pulling away from the sides of the bowl. If the dough becomes too thick for the mixer, finish bringing it together by hand.
- Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and roll it out until it's about 1/4 inch thick. Use a football-shaped cookie cutter to cut the dough. Gather and reroll the scraps, then continue cutting cookies until you've used as much of the dough as possible.
- Carefully transfer the cookies to the prepared baking sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the edges are set and the centers are no longer shiny. Let the cookies cool completely before decorating.
- Outline each football cookie with the brown icing, then fill in the center. Use a toothpick or scribe tool to gently smooth the icing and remove any air bubbles. Let the brown icing set for about 30 minutes. Use the reserved white icing to pipe the laces and stripes onto each football.
Notes
- Don’t overbake: Watch the cookies closely toward the end of the baking time. They’re ready when the edges are set and the centers are no longer shiny. Baking them too long can make the cookies hard.
- Cool before decorating: Make sure the cookies are completely cool before adding the icing so it doesn’t melt or run.
- Start with a small opening: When cutting the tip of your piping bag, start with a very small hole. You can always make it bigger if you need more icing to flow through.
- Check the icing consistency: The icing should settle back into itself within about 12-15 seconds. Add a little water if it’s too thick or powdered sugar if it’s too thin.
- Let the brown icing set: Give the brown icing about 30 minutes to set before adding the white laces and stripes. This helps keep the football details looking clean.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
These cookies are so cute and fun. And the recipe only takes a few staple ingredients!