Chocolate Football Cookies frosted with rich and creamy Chocolate Dr Pepper Frosting and Eckrich Smoked Sausage Roll-Ups make perfect snacks for tailgating or homegating parties.
Brought to you by Dr Pepper® and Eckrich®.
Are you excited about the college football season? Are you planning a tailgating or homegating party?
I’m not sure when “homegating” became a word, but hosting a football-watching party at home is more popular than ever and I put together a festive spread of food, that I bought at Meijer, including Dr Pepper Chocolate Football Cookies and Eckrich Smoked Sausage Roll Ups, that will have your friends and family cheering.
I’ve never personally tailgated, but I host parties at home all the time and have so much fun putting together colorful and festive tablescapes.
It’s easy to put together a festive football-themed tablescape using a football field tablecloth and football-themed party supplies. I have a few basic supplies that I pull out every time I host a football-watching party. My table comes together quickly and looks great. Add some fun napkins, football shaped bowls, and specially marked college football cans of Dr Pepper and your table will be ready to fill with amazing food.
For this event, my party guests enjoyed soft flour tortillas wrapped around a mix of Eckrich Smoked Sausage, potatoes, and peppers. Eckrich Smoked Sausage is Naturally Hardwood Smoked and crafted with just the right blend of spices it has a truly rich, savory taste that goes perfectly with potatoes and peppers.
I served the dish in a football-shaped bowl and allowed my guest to create their own roll-ups.
I got the recipe for these Eckrich Smoked Sausage Roll Ups from my sister. She makes this dish all the time and I’ve always loved it. She usually tosses in some onions, but my husband won’t eat them so I always leave them out. They are a nice addition though, so I’ve included them in the recipe below.
Just a note about the potatoes. I find they get nice and crispy when I parboil them first. You can skip this step, but allow more time in the skillet for them to cook.
- 2 russet potatoes
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- optional 1 onion, sliced
- 1 large orange yellow, or red pepper, cut into small pieces
- 1 14 oz. package of Eckrich Smoked Sausage ropes, cut into 1/4 inch thick slices
- season salt
- 6-10 soft flour tortillas
- optional sour cream
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Peel and dice potatoes.
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Rinse with cold water.
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Place in a small saucepan.
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Pour water over potatoes so that the water goes 1 inch above the potatoes.
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Add the white vinegar.
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Bring to a boil over high heat then lower heat to medium and continue to cook for 5 minutes.
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Remove from heat and drain off water.
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Pour out onto paper towels and pat dry.
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Heat oil in a 12 inch skillet over medium high heat.
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Once the oil begins to shimmer, toss in the potatoes and onions, if using.
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Cook until they begin to brown.
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Add the peppers, sausage, and a pinch of season salt and cook until heated through and lightly browned.
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Spread onto flour tortillas, top with sour cream if using, roll up and enjoy.
For dessert, we enjoyed Dr Pepper Chocolate Football Cookies. I had so much fun playing around with this recipe. It’s always exciting for me to experiment with new flavor profiles. Dr Pepper is the one fans crave, so I knew it would pair really well with chocolate.
I’d never made cookies using soda pop before but figured if I could reduce the Dr Pepper into a syrup it could be swapped out for vanilla in my favorite chocolate cookie recipe. It worked great.
To really pump up the flavor I also used the Dr Pepper syrup to make a chocolate ganache frosting. The sweetness of the Dr Pepper really enhanced the frosted chocolate cookies. It added such an amazing overtone of Dr Pepper flavor without overwhelming the chocolate.
To make the frosting, start by pouring one 12 ounce can of Dr Pepper into a small saucepan.
Heat the soda until it reduces to a thick syrup.
Then use a teaspoon of the syrup to make the cookie dough and use the rest to make a chocolate ganache frosting.
Serve these Chocolate Dr Pepper Football Cookies at your next sports themed party like the Super Bowl or a team football party.
- 1 12 ounce can Dr Pepper
- 10 tablespoons butter, softened slightly
- 3/4 cups granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon Dr Pepper Syrup
- 1/3 cup cocoa powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 3/4 cups flour plus 1-3 tablespoons more
- 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
- 2 tablespoons Dr Pepper Syrup
- 4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1/4 cup white frosting
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Pour Dr Pepper into a small saucepan.
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Set it over medium high heat and bring the Dr Pepper to a boil.
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Reduce heat to medium low and simmer, stirring frequently, until the liquid reduces to 7 teaspoons (about 10 minutes).
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Remove from heat and allow to cool.
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In a large mixing bowl, combine butter and sugar.
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Cream until light and fluffy.
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Mix in egg and one teaspoon of the Dr Pepper syrup.
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Combine cocoa powder, baking powder, salt, and flour in a small bowl.
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Stir in to wet ingredients and mix just until incorporated.
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Flatten dough into a disc and wrap in plastic wrap or place in a zip top bag.
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Refrigerate for 1 hour.
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Dust cutting board with flour.
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Remove dough and knead in additional flour, if needed, until no longer sticky.
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Roll dough out to 1/8th inch thickness on a flour dusted cutting board.
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Cut out 28-32 football shaped cookies using a 3 or 4 inch football cookie cutter.
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Set cut-out cookies on parchment paper lined baking sheets.
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Bake cookies for 10-12 minutes until firm around the edges.
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Remove and allow to cool completely.
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Pour heavy whipping cream and remaining 2 tablespoons Dr Pepper Syrup into a small saucepan.
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Heat over medium heat just until bubbles form around the edge of the pan.
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Remove the pan from heat and add the chopped chocolate.
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Let sit for 3 minutes, then stir the chocolate until melted.
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Pour into a bowl.
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Sift the powdered sugar over the chocolate mixture.
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Stir until well combined.
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If needed, allow to cool and thicken slightly.
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Spread about a teaspoon of chocolate frosting over each football cookie.
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Allow the frosting on the cookies to dry for about an hour.
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Spoon the white frosting into a pastry bag fitted with a small round pastry tip (#4).
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Pipe white frosting laces and stripes onto each football shaped cookie.
If you want to create these recipes be sure to check out the mPerks offer so you can save up to $2.00 with the purchase of one (1) Eckrich Smoked Sausage (10-14 oz) and one (1) pack of Dr Pepper 8 pk. 12oz. bottles or 7.5oz. cans (regular or diet).
You can find Eckrich Smoked Sausage in the packaged meat aisle at Meijer and the Dr Pepper can be found in the soda aisle. Be sure to stock up on the specially marked cans that are perfectly decorated for your tailgating and homegating events. Dr Pepper and Eckrich will make great additions to any party during the college football season.
If you want more tailgating or homegating party ideas for the college football season,
be sure to check out my Football Party Food ideas.
Have fun hosting your college football tailgating or homegating party and enjoy making these Chocolate Football Cookies with Chocolate Dr Pepper Frosting and Eckrich Smoked Sausage Roll Ups for your guests.
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