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    Home » Dessert Recipes » Homemade Candy

    Chocolate Footballs

    Modified: Sep 2, '23 · Published: Jan 23, '15 · By: Beth Klosterboer · Commission earned on paid or sponsored links.

    Prepare to party for the Big Game by serving Ritz Cracker Crunch Footballs, Coca-Cola Ganache filled Truffle Footballs, and a Decorated DiGiorno Pepperoni Stuffed Crust Pizza. This post is brought to you by Collective Bias and its advertiser.

    #PrepareToParty #CollectiveBias

    football party food table with a pizza and chocolate footballs

    I've spent the past few weeks creating all sorts of fun food for the Big Game, and this spread of appetizers and desserts is my absolute favorite.

    Everything not only tastes great, but the buffet table looks perfect. I got tired of using the same old decorations, so I got some new ones and created two new amazing recipes to share with you for your own celebrations.

    chocolate Ritz cracker crunch footballs

    First up are my favorite new treats, Ritz Cracker Crunch Footballs.

    Each football-shaped treat has a Ritz Cracker peanut butter sandwich hiding inside a chocolate peanut butter and toffee shell. Yum. Seriously YUM!

    These treats were not originally going to be made like this. I started by trying, yes, I said, trying to make Ritz Cracker Toffee in the shape of footballs. After three attempts, one batch of burnt sugar and two pans of grease-slicked sugar, I gave up.

    I'm so happy I did because when I finally created these peanut butter sandwich cracker-filled chocolates, I wanted to do a touchdown dance. I actually had to make a second batch of the football treats in order to take pictures because we couldn't stop eating them.

    chocolate footballs with Coca-Cola chocolate ganache inside.

    It was a good thing I invited some friends over to help me eat all this game-day grub. The Coca-Cola Chocolate Ganache Footballs are pretty darn good too.

    This was the first time I've made chocolate ganache filling for truffles using soda. It's something I've been wanting to do for a while. I wondered how well a carbonated soda would work in a ganache, and I'm happy to report that it worked out well.

    To make the ganache I boiled down the soda to make a syrup which I added to some heavy whipping cream and semi-sweet chocolate. The syrup gives the ganache a nice hint of cola flavor.

    If you have small football-shaped candy molds you can make bite-sized truffles. I only have one football mold, so I used it to make dessert-sized truffles which everyone thought was fantastic. Bigger, is better, right?

    pizza with a football helmet created with pepperoni on top.

    Next up, I took a DiGiorno Pepperoni Stuffed Crust Pizza and rearranged the pepperoni to look like a football helmet. It looked so cool on the pizza before I baked it. I like my pizza baked until the cheese is nice and dark, but I didn't think about how that would affect the finished pizza.

    Hey, even though the pepperoni blended into the dark cheese, it was still fun and the pizza was gobbled up quickly.

    Super Bowl party food table with pennants, football plates and napkins, Coca Cola, pizza, and chocolate footballs.

    When my friends walked in and saw this table filled with the game food and decorations, they flipped. I was excited to see how they reacted.

    The table came together really quickly and I love how it turned out. I set the table with my football field tablecloth, football plates, napkins, and cups, along with some football-shaped bowls and a few mini foam fingers. I hung a pennant and put out my food and drinks.

    Time to party!

    chocolate footballs filled with toffee, peanut butter, and Ritz crackers.

    Ritz Cracker Crunch Footballs

    Ingredients: (makes 12 footballs)

    12 Ritz Crackers
    2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
    1 ounce white confectionery coating
    10 ounces light cocoa confectionery coating
    ½ cup peanut butter chips
    3 tablespoon toffee bits

    Supplies:

    food use only paint brush
    1 Wilton silicone football mold

    Instructions:

    making chocolate footballs filled with crackers, peanut butter, and toffee.

    Create 6 peanut butter sandwiches out of the crackers and peanut butter.

    Heat white confectionery coating in the microwave on high power for 15 second increments, stirring after each, until melted. Paint the white candy coating into the molds creating the laces and stripes.

    Combine the light cocoa confectionery coating with the peanut butter chips. Heat in the microwave on high for 30 seconds, stir, heat 30 more seconds, stir, then heat for 20 seconds. Let sit for 2 minutes, then stir. If it's not all melted, heat for 10 second increments, stirring after each until melted.

    Spoon about 1 tablespoon of the peanut butter cocoa coating into the bottom of one football shaped cavity. Set a peanut butter cracker sandwich in the center of the football, press it down, allowing the candy coating to ooze up around the edge of the cracker. Sprinkle on a heaping teaspoonful of toffee bits and top with about another tablespoon of peanut butter candy coating. Repeat.

    Pop in the freezer for 15 minutes, then un-mold by pressing on the back side of the mold, allowing the footballs to pop out.

    Items used for this project that are available on Amazon.com (commission earned for sales)

      Creative Converting 16 Coun...Shop on Amazon Game Day Football Tablecove...Shop on Amazon

    8-Count Round Dessert Paper...Shop on AmazonAmscan Football Party Shot ...Shop on Amazon Mini Foam Fingers, We are 1...Shop on Amazon

    chocolate truffle footballs.

    Coca-Cola Ganache Filled Football Truffles

    Ingredients:

    Ganache-

    1 ½ cups Coca-Cola
    ½ cup heavy whipping cream
    8 ounces very finely chopped semi-sweet chocolate

    Shells-

    1 ounce white confectionery coating for the decoration
    12 ounces light cocoa confectionery coating
    6 ounces white confectionery coating

    Instructions:

    cooking Coca Cola into a syrup.

    Heat Coca-Cola in a small saucepan over medium heat for about 15 minutes, stirring often, until it turns into a syrup.

    When it's ready, you will be able to pull a heat proof spatula across the bottom of the pan, and it will leave a trail.

    making chocolate ganache with Coca Cola syrup

    Allow the mixture to cool for 15 minutes, then add the heavy whipping cream, and heat it over medium heat, just until it bubbles form around the edge of the pan. Pour over the chopped chocolate. Let sit for 3 minutes.

    Then begin stirring in the center of the bowl, working in a circular motion, until the chocolate and cream come together and the ganache is shiny and smooth.

    making the chocolate football truffles.

    Paint the laces and stripes in each football mold with white confectionery coating. Allow the coating to dry.

    Combine the light cocoa confectionery coating with the 6 ounces white confectionery. Heat in the microwave on high for 30 seconds, stir, heat for 30 more seconds, stir, then 20 seconds. Let sit for 2 minutes, then stir. If it's not all melted, heat for 10-second increments, stirring after each until melted.

    Spoon some coating into the football cavities. Use the spoon to spread it over the bottom and up the sides of each football. Freeze for 5 minutes.

    Pour Coca-Cola chocolate ganache into a pastry bag. Pipe ganache into the football cavities. If still liquid, allow to set at room temperature until the ganache firms up.

    Top with the remaining confectionery coating, and scrape off excess.

    Freeze for 10 minutes, then un-mold.

    topping a pizza with a pepperoni football helmet.

    DiGiorno Pepperoni Stuffed Crust Pizzas can be decorated by rearranging and cutting the pepperoni. I created a football helmet. You can make a football too.

    The directions call for the pizza to be baked directly on your oven rack, which makes for a great crust, but I couldn't move the pizza without messing up my design, so I put the pizza on some tin foil so I could easily lift it and move it to the oven.

    After about 10 minutes of baking, you can move it off the tin foil, so the crust gets crispier. It's fun watching the pizza go from a flat cheese and sauce-topped dough to this golden brown pizza with a big puffy mozzarella cheese-filled crust. Man, I love that crust.

    football party food

    This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #PrepareToParty #CollectiveBias

    More Super Bowl Dessert Recipes
    from Hungry Happenings

    Super Bowl Party Dessert Recipes

    White Chocolate Football Field Cupcake Wrappers

    Super Bowl Party Dessert Recipes

    Milk Chocolate Football Cupcakes

    chocolate peanut butter fudge footballs

    4 Ingredient Reese's Fudge Footballs

    If you want more tailgating or homegating party ideas for the college football season, be sure to check out my Football Party Food ideas.

    • Author
    • Recent Posts
    Beth Klosterboer
    Beth Klosterboer
    Hi, I'm Beth Klosterboer, a professional chocolatier & baker, cookbook author, and event planner. I love sharing recipes for happy occasions here on Hungry Happenings. I also create easy fudge recipes to share at HowToMakeEasyFudge.com, rice krispie treat recipes at HowToMakeCerealTreats.com, and easy cookie recipes at HowToMakeEasyCookies.com
    Beth Klosterboer
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    1. The adventures of Jolly and Happy says

      January 31, 2015 at 6:57 am

      Wow you are amazing!

      Reply
    2. The adventures of Jolly and Happy says

      January 31, 2015 at 6:57 am

      Wow you are amazing!

      Reply
      • beth says

        January 31, 2015 at 12:18 pm

        Oh, that is so nice of you to say:)

        Reply
    3. Marisela | NomNom Kingdom says

      January 29, 2015 at 6:31 pm

      These are so cute!! I am not a football fan but I hold no objection to eating these cute candies! 🙂

      Reply
      • beth says

        January 31, 2015 at 12:17 pm

        I feel the same way , Marisela, and enjoyed my fair share of these treats:)

        Reply
    4. Sugartown Sweets says

      January 27, 2015 at 12:52 am

      You really have been making some yummy looking football themed treats, and way cool on the Coca~Cola ganache..what a great idea! Plus, we know the party was a big hit..i mean helmet pizza and peanut butter with Ritz combo; how could it not be?

      Reply
      • beth says

        January 27, 2015 at 12:59 am

        Thanks, I've made more football themed food this year than ever before. It's been a lot of fun and my friends are sure enjoying all the appetizers and desserts.

        Reply
    5. Valerie says

      January 26, 2015 at 6:04 pm

      That looks like a super cool party. I was trying to figure out how you got such perfectly shaped footballs. Now I know the trick! 🙂

      Reply
      • beth says

        January 27, 2015 at 12:57 am

        Thanks, Valerie. I love that silicone mold. I've made sweet and savory recipes using it and they all turn out great.

        Reply
    6. Tiffany@Fizzy Party! says

      January 25, 2015 at 4:53 am

      YUM! I'm totally going to make these Ritz chocolate footballs. Every one always uses the molds for Oreo's and I'm not a fan of those.

      Reply
      • beth says

        January 25, 2015 at 3:45 pm

        Yay, I'm glad you are going to give them a try. It was hard for me to share these. I wanted to eat them all myself!

        Reply
    7. The Partiologist says

      January 25, 2015 at 2:10 am

      Holy Toledo, you made coca cola ganache??? I bet they were delicious, I would have NEVER thought of such a thing!!

      Reply
      • beth says

        January 25, 2015 at 3:44 pm

        Yep, I've been thinking about doing it for a while. I'm excited to try other flavors too.

        Reply
    Beth Jackson Klosterboer

    Welcome to Hungry Happenings!

    I'm Beth. I've been a professional chocolatier & baker for over 30 years, have written 5 cookbooks, and love creating fun food for holidays and special occasions.

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