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The preseason has already started, and football season is on its way! Football season means so many wonderful things to me–tailgating, delicious food, and good times. Football season brings comfy sweatshirts, beautiful crisp weather, and mugs of hot cocoa. The best part about football, though, is great times spent with great friends. What better way to kick off football season than with a Football Tailgate party with our close friends and family, powered by chocolate and Snickers® candy bars?
If you’ve been here before, you might know that here at Ya Gotta Have a Hobby, I always have to add a little twist to everything I do. For my football tailgate, of course we had cheeseburger sliders, hot dogs, chips, sodas, and popcorn–all your typical football-watching fare.
Buuuuut, to shake things up a bit, I took some favorite football snacks and gave them a chocolate-y, Snickers® and Mars candy bar twist!
Instead of just plain chips and dip, we had Caramel Snickers® Dip, with pretzel, vanilla wafer cookie, and chocolate graham dippers:
To make the dip, I whipped together two boxes of cream cheese (16 oz total), 1/4 cup light brown sugar, 1 container of Cool Whip (8 oz), and 2 tablespoons of caramel ice cream syrup, then folded in 6 Snickers® bars, chopped into 8 pieces each.
I served it with a platter of all kinds of dippers, from pretzels (for that salty/sweet combo), to chocolate graham bears to vanilla wafer cookies.
It was definitely a hit with everyone–I couldn’t stop eating it!
Instead of a supreme pizza with all the toppings that you might order for a tailgate, we had an ultimate dessert pizza–S’mores Candy Bar Cheesecake Dessert Pizza (with sugar cookie crust) to be exact:
I used a roll of sugar cookie dough to bake up one large cookie pizza crust:
Then I topped it with a cheesecake mixture, made of 2 boxes of cream cheese, 1/2 cup light brown sugar, and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract:
Then topped it with chopped Mars candy bars (4 of each bar in the bag) and caramel drizzle:
And finished it with graham cracker crumbs and marshmallow pieces:
It was seriously so pretty that we had a hard time cutting into it! Angie and Moxie got caught picking the marshmallows off the top:
And instead of my ultimate sports-watching favorite snack–ultimate nachos with cheese and beans and guacamole and carne asada–we had Snickers® Apple Nachos (with ooey, gooey caramel, chocolate, and marshmallow topping):
The Husband was definitely impressed–he’s always been a huge caramel apple fan, so these were right up his alley:
I thinly sliced about 5 Granny Smith apples, then sprinkled them with lemon juice:
Then I melted about 20 large marshmallows with 1/4 cup of butter:
And drizzled that on top with more caramel syrup:
And then finished it off with chocolate syrup drizzle and six chopped Snickers® bars:
I also added a little twist to my favorite dessert, chocolate chip cookies, with my Snickers® Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies:
These cookies were the HIT of the party! Everyone loved them. I’m pretty sure the boys stationed themselves right next to the plate on purpose:
Travis is definitely guarding those cookies!
Brandon, Melissa, and my mama all gave them the seal of approval, too:
I turned around and these puppies were gone–I think I got ONE!
These cookies are super easy to make, and they’ll be perfect for your next football get-together!
To make it easier, you can pick up your Snickers® Bars at Sam’s Club, where they have them in the oh-so-awesome 48-count box:
Not only did I use these in the food, I made party favors out of them, by using green washi tape (to go with my theme) to tape bars to football cardboard cutouts:
While I was at Sam’s Club, I picked up my box of Snickers® Bars along with a bag of other Mars candy bars–Three Musketeers, Milky Way, Twix, M&Ms, and fun-size Snickers®.
Not only did I use these in my dessert pizza, but I used them as decor too! I covered empty coffee cans with glitter cardstock and football cutouts, then stuffed them full of my fun-sized candy bars:
I used the green of the football field as inspiration for the decor, along with the black and white stripes of the referee uniforms, and incorporated the three colors all throughout our table spread, in the napkins, straws, popcorn boxes, and even in the streamers:
I added a few other special football touches, with rubber footballs on the table:
Football toppers in the popcorn:
A football player centerpiece under glass:
And my personal favorite, football-shaped paper lanterns!
And now, for the recipe I KNOW you’ve been waiting for:
Snickers® Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies
Makes about 32 cookies.
Ingredients:
2 cups + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup (1.5 sticks) salted butter, softened
1 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 egg + 1 egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1-1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
4 Snickers® Bars, cut into 8 pieces each
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Mix together flour and baking soda in a small bowl, then set aside.
3. In another bowl, cream together the brown sugar, the white sugar, and the butter.
4. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix well until combined. Then, slowly add the flour mixture a little at a time, beating with the mixer until it forms a dough. It takes a few minutes until the dough reaches a stiffer consistency, but be careful not to overmix:
5. Fold in the chocolate chips with a spatula, then place in the fridge for at least 30-40 minutes.
6. Now for the Snickers® stuffing!
Scoop out about a tablespoon of dough into your hand, then press a piece of Snickers® into the center:
Take another small piece of dough and cover the Snickers® bar, sealing it so it’s completely enclosed in the cookie dough:
Place on a cookie sheet and bake in the oven for 12-14 minutes. The cookies will be done around the edges but still will look puffy and soft in the centers:
Voila! Better hide a few, because these babies will disappear the second you set them out for the party!
Here are a few more of my favorite snaps from our #Chocolate4TheWin Football Tailgate party!
Have a great football season, dear reader! May your favorite team win… as long as they’re not playing my favorite team!
Snickers Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies
2014-08-18 01:47:05
Yields 32
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Prep Time
45 min
Cook Time
12 min
Total Time
57 min
Prep Time
45 min
Cook Time
12 min
Total Time
57 min
Ingredients
2 cups + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 cup (1.5 sticks) salted butter, softened
1 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg, at room temperature
1 egg yolk, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 and 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
4 Snickers bars, cut into 8 pieces each
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Mix together flour and baking soda in a bowl, set aside.
3. Cream butter and sugars in another bowl using an electric mixer. Mix in egg, egg yolk, and vanilla.
4. Slowly add flour mixture, mixing to combine thoroughly. Mix until a dough forms, being careful not to overmix.
5. Fold in chocolate chips, then refrigerate dough for 30 minutes.
6. Scoop 1 tablespoon of dough, then press a piece of Snickers bar into the center. Cover with another small piece of dough, sealing the candy inside.
7. Bake for 12-14 minutes, until edges are done but center is still soft and slightly puffy.
By Michelle @ Ya Gotta Have a Hobby
Adapted from Sally's Baking Addiction
Adapted from Sally's Baking Addiction
Ya Gotta Have a Hobby http://www.yagottahaveahobby.com/
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