Football Cookies

These Football Cookies are salty, crispy pretzel sandwiches stuffed with peanut butter cups, dipped in chocolate and decorated with laces makes the perfect sweet treat for football fans.

plate of perfect football cookie recipe cookies

Football Cookies

Are you looking for a fun way to celebrate the super bowl or cheer on your favorite team during football season?

These easy to make cookies are delicious, super easy to make, and have a cute football shape without using a football shaped cookie cutter.

I’m always on the hunt for big game day treats. Not only do I love all the savory appetizers like meatballs and dips, I love something sweet to finish out all the non-stop snacking.

And these football cookies are the perfect treat to do so.

ingredients for football cookies

Ingredients Needed

Pretzels – I like the square pretzels. Every so often they sell football shaped pretzels.

Peanut butter cups – Use the miniature cups for best results.

Chocolate – I use a combination of semisweet and white chocolate. Use melting bars or wafers instead of chocolate chips if possible.

Coconut oil – Substitute vegetable shortening.

Tools Needed

Baking sheetI like to have a wire rack on mine for when I did the cookies in chocolate.

Parchment paperYou can also use a silicone baking mat. I don’t recommend wax paper.

Piping bagUse a frosting piping bag, a zip top bag, or a squeeze bottle for easier drizzling.

For more insider tips & tricks, and a candid behind the scenes look follow me on social media! Check use out on Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, & Twitter (yes, people still use Twitter, LOL!)

How to Make Football Cookies

First: On a parchment or silicone lined baking sheet, place 20 pretzels. Slice the peanut butter cups in half horizontally. Place a half on each pretzel.

Place in the 300F oven and bake cookies for 5 minutes. Remove from the oven. Press down slightly to flatten and get the pretzels to stick. Cool completely.

Second: Melt the semi-sweet chocolate and the coconut oil in a medium bowl in the microwave. Heat in 30-second intervals and stir often.

Dip the pretzel sandwiches in the melted chocolate, covering them completely. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet or tray. Once they are all dipped, place in the fridge to set the chocolate.

Third: When they are set, melt the white chocolate in the microwave. Pipe the laces on the football cookies. Chill in the fridge to set the laces. Serve!

For the full recipe and detailed instructions, please refer to the recipe card at the bottom of the post.

tray of cookies for football-themed party

How long do they last?

These easy football cookies will last up to 2 weeks at room temperature. Be sure to store in an airtight container for best results.

Do they need to be refrigerated?

These are best kept out of the refrigerator. They chocolate will form condensation will form on the decorated cookies if you chill them and the bring them out onto the counter.

I only recommend chilling them right after you dip them to set the chocolate.

college football cookies

Can I freeze them?

I do not recommend freezing them as they chocolate will separate and appear ashy.

What to Serve with Peanut Butter Football Cookies

perfect cookies to eat while watching a football game

Tapas Tips & Tricks

  • Start with plenty of space to work.
  • Let your peanut butter pretzels cool completely before dipping or they will slide apart.
  • Don’t like white chocolate, opt for royal icing, white icing, or white frosting.
  • Melting wafers work better than chips. They have stabilizers in them to help them hold their shape so they don’t melt as smooth.
  • Use a dipping fork for easier dipping and covering cookies.
  • Dip the cookies in colored white chocolate to match your team colors or make themed cookies.

If you love this recipe as much as I do, please write a five-star review in the comment section below (or on Pinterest with the “tried it” button – you can now add pictures into reviews, too!), and be sure to help me share on facebook!

large picture of football cookies on a white plate with red text

These adorable Football Cookies are the perfect dessert for game day parties!

plate of football cookies

Football Cookies

A salty, crispy pretzel sandwich stuffed with Reese’s cups, dipped in chocolate and decorated with laces makes the perfect Reese’s Pretzel Football Cookies for your Game Day celebration!
4.50 from 10 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Sweets, Desserts and Shooters
Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
Servings: 20 cookies
Calories: 1g
Author: Jennifer Stewart

Ingredients

  • 40 square pretzels
  • 10 mini peanut butter cups
  • 8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate
  • 1 tablespoon coconut oil or vegetable shortening
  • 1 ounce of white chocolate

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 300F.

Make the peanut butter pretzels.

  • On a parchment or silicone lined baking sheet, place 20 pretzels.
  • Cut Reese’s mini cups in half horizontally.
  • Place a half on each pretzel.
  • Place in the oven for 5 minutes.
  • When they are done, remove from oven and top with the remaining 20 pretzels.
  • Press down slightly to flatten and get the pretzels to stick.
  • Cool completely.

Dip the Peanut Butter Pretzel Bites

  • Melt the semi-sweet chocolate and the coconut oil in a microwave safe bowl in the microwave.
  • Heat in 30-second intervals and stir often.
  • Dip the pretzel sandwiches in the melted chocolate, covering them completely.
  • Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet or tray.
  • Once they are all dipped, place in the fridge to set the chocolate.

Turn the Cookies into Footballs

  • When they are set, melt the white chocolate in the microwave.
  • Pipe the laces on the football cookies.
  • Chill in the fridge to set the laces.
  • Serve!
  • You can store the Reese’s Pretzel Football Cookies in an airtight container for up to a week.

Notes

  • Start with plenty of space to work.
  • Let your peanut butter pretzels cool completely before dipping or they will slide apart.
  • Don’t like white chocolate, opt for royal icing, white icing, or white frosting.
  • Melting wafers work better than chips. They have stabilizers in them to help them hold their shape so they don’t melt as smooth.
  • Use a dipping fork for easier dipping and covering cookies.
  • Dip the cookies in colored white chocolate to match your team colors or make themed cookies.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 301kcal | Carbohydrates: 55g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 1mg | Sodium: 712mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 9g

{Originally posted 01/25/17 – photos and recipe notes updated to improve reader experience 02/02/23}

©TakeTwoTapas.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited.

39 Comments

  1. I could live on pretzels. In fact, when I first moved to NYC I kind of did. My favorite dinner (this is so embarrassing now) was pretzels dipped in jarred tomato sauce. This was my fiscally responsible move. In order to save money for drinks.

    1. When we visited NYC a few years ago my son only ate soft pretzels from the street vendors. He lived on them for a week. That and tasty hand pulled noodles from Chinatown!

  2. I have been searching for something cute for an upcoming SB party. At first I was going to try cake pops but SIGH, that requires more effort than I’d like. Haha. To my delight, you’ve shared this recipe and now I know what I’m doing!! These are so fun, and I love that they’re so simple to make.

    1. I feel the same about cake pops. I always get jealous of those that are so perfectly round. I just bought a mold to make them round so I can do better next time. I hope you liked the brownies!

  3. I have two boys and the pretzels run out way too quickly in my house as well. Luckily they eat the whole pretzel and not just the salt. This is such a cute idea of making these cookies. A little salt and a little sweet is perfect!

  4. A) Who doesn’t love peanut butter and chocolate?
    B) Add Pretzels and who’s going to turn this treat down?
    C) Decorated like footballs? Oh my gosh – Touchdown!
    D) You ate a licked pretzel? … eww, but then again, what parent hasn’t done similar?
    E) Pet stores, TSC or Farm & Fleet do sell salt blocks… that would make a crazy funny gag gift for Conner.

    I’m saving this recipe for the easy, yummy treats and for the fact that when I need reminded my life isn’t totally insane alone. 37 minutes … emptied an entire bag of pretzels. Wow.

  5. Such a cute treat!! I absolutely love chocolate and pretzels – that sweet and salty flavor gets me everytime. I’m sure these would be dangerously addictive. 🙂

  6. What a great little treat for game day. Chocolate, peanut butter and pretzels. How can you go wrong with that. These sound totally addictive. They would not last long here. Certainly gone way before the game was done.

  7. So, yeah, those football cookies are officially the cutest thing I’ve seen today. So cute, yet simple, and playful. These are sure to make any football game more fun.

  8. These look so good – I love the salty-sweet combination of pretzels and chocolate, and the peanut butter cup makes it even better! Your son is hilarious! Eating a bag of his leftover salt-licked pretzels – ha! I can’t wait to see what kind of crazy food things my toddler does as he grows up.

    1. Make sure you write them down. I forget all the weird things he has done that I was mad at at the time but now find so funny!

  9. These are really impressive looking chocolate coated cookies. I have been “scared” to make my own chocolates, but recently made my first ever batch of chocolate coated bourbon balls. Now I am hooked. Looks like I have found my second recipe to try.

  10. These are absolutely, 100% happening at our Superbowl party! We can’t keep enough stock of peanut butter in this house. And I can’t keep my hands off a sweet + salty snack!

4.50 from 10 votes (6 ratings without comment)

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