I’m not a big sports fan, and I don’t normally get into watching the games. But I make a large exception for Superbowl Sunday. Don’t ask me why, but I kinda love watching American football. Or, if you have to know, it all started more than a decade ago during a magical trip to New Orleans in the winter … you know what? It’s probably best if you don’t know.
But we love to have people over to watch the game. Even when we lived in Geneva, we would make an effort to host any football-loving expat in our radius. Due to the time difference, we would have to watch a recorded game the next day. So to join in, everyone had to solemnly promise not to cheat and find out who won beforehand. Considering that meant basically shutting off the internet for the day, I’m not sure how many people went into the game clean, but it was always fun to make the effort.
Every Superbowl party needs a fat pot of chilli and a side of cornbread. To me, that is just football food and it’s become a tradition. But let’s be honest: the real star of the show is the snacks. I’ve put together a collection of my favourite Superbowl snacks, both the savoury and the sweet.
The Best Appetizer You Will Ever Make In Your Life
I’m going to start this off with a preview: I make the best dip in the world. I’ve never met a person who doesn’t like it, and the bowl is always literally licked clean at the end of the night. I have never once gone to a party with it where I haven’t been asked for the recipe, so I now keep a copy with me at all times. Aspiring authors, I once brought this to a potluck at the end of a writer’s conference. I had several agents come up and ask me for the recipe. Pretty awesome way to open up a discussion: Sure, I’ll send you the recipe … as well as the first three chapters of my novel?
It’s easy, it’s so so tasty and will make you the snack star of any party. And it’s yours … if you sign up for my newsletter! I’ll share with all my followers at the end of the month, so make sure your name is on the list!
Teriyaki Chicken Wings
Crispy, chewy, sweet and salty. The family cannot get enough of these beauties. A plus: these are baked, not fried. It’s a cinch to put together, and simply involves baking wings coated in baking powder, then stirring up the sauce. A few minutes of actual effort, and you have a family favourite. (Very sticky, wipes are suggested, particularly when kids are involved!)
Recipe can be found at: Tasty Baked Teriyaki Wings
Cheesy Monkey Bread
Who can resist pull-apart bread? I genuinely want to know. The soft dough, crunchy on the outside, chewy on the inside, covered with melty cheese? A giant yes!
I cheat and use a recipe with a pre-made dough. (Making bread/dough isn’t really my thing). The brilliant part of this is that it takes only a few minutes to put together, then pop it in the oven. My cast-iron skillet is getting a workout with this, but I believe is can be made with a baking pan as well. Throw out some marinara dipping sauce and you have a winner!
Also super messy. You know what? Everything here is super messy. I’m just going to let the messy warning stand: bring napkins! And a hose!
Recipe can be found here: Bon Appetit Cheesy Monkey Bread
Oreo Brownies
It’s really a match made in heaven. The fudgiest chocolate brownies in existence, layered with oreo cookies. Another recipe that is so so easy to make and the reward is huge. I’m a fan of the small effort = endless hugs and tears of gratitude from the family!
Recipe can be found here: Marsha’s Baking Addiction Fudgy Oreo Brownies
Peanut Butter Chocolate Sandwiches
For me, there are few taste combinations as good as peanut butter and chocolate. It’s always going to be good. I am the girl who will eat peanut butter off of the spoon with some chocolate chips, but I will tell you that these decadent cookie sandwiches are a vast improvement.
A little bit more work, because the cookies and icing are made separately and have to be assembled, but well worth it for the impact they make. I was already making a chocolate cake for a birthday party, so doubled that recipe so I had lots of my favourite icing on hand.
Warning: this is a big dessert. There is a lot of cookie here.
Peanut Butter Cookie recipe found here: Simply Recipes Easy Peanut Butter Cookies
Chocolate Frosting recipe found here: Add A Pinch Perfect Chocolate Buttercream Frosting (note: this makes a lot of icing. If only using for these cookies, I would consider halving the amount.)
Chocolate-Covered Chips
This is a concept I’ve been working on ever since I was at a Christmas market and discovered chocolate bark with chips involved. Brilliant, I thought, and immediately made some (see here for that recipe). But it also got me thinking: what if there was less chocolate and more chip? I think the salty-sweet ratio would be better.
So I gave it a try. My recipe has dark chocolate because I really didn’t want the sweetness to be overwhelming. I used a plain chip because I can’t really imagine any other flavour working with the chocolate. (I mean, sour cream and onion and chocolate? Maybe – please let some intrepid taste adventurer try this and let me know. It’s too extreme for me!)
I experimented with different sprinkles on the chips. Some I added some flaked salt, other coconut flakes, shaved almond or cardamon. The kids liked the coconut ones the best; I liked the cardamon. It was very on-brand for us. I tried some with chile powder and some with cracked pepper, but I don’t recommend – the spice was too strong for this.
I do recommend a hardy ripple chip that will hold the chocolate well, like Old Dutch.
Recipe
Ingredients
4 oz dark chocolate
Approximately 20 large ripple chips, plain or salted
Directions
Melt chocolate over a double boiler or bain-marie until very liquid and shimmery. One at a time, dip chips into chocolate until half coated. Let cool on a rack, with a paper towel underneath to capture the drips. You can sprinkle nuts or coconut over the chips at this point.
One thing all these snacks have in common is: decadent. Over the top. I find we need this kind of comfort food in February. But soon we’ll be lightening things up as spring gets closer! Tell me, what’s your favourite decadent snack? Are you a savoury or sweet person? Reply in the comments below!
Cordelia Kelly 