How Do I Choose the Best Super Bowl® Desserts?

The Super Bowl® is an annual tradition celebrated by lovers of American football and the parties accompanying the event often feature food — and lots of it. In order to choose the best Super Bowl® desserts for a game-day party, it is important to consider how many guests you will be serving, their age and the overall tone of the party. Much of the food at Super Bowl® parties is designed to be finger food, including desserts. It is best to choose options that are easy to eat and not too messy for your guests, such as football-shaped cookies, decorated cupcakes and flavorful bars.

If all of your Super Bowl® party guests are fans of the same team, you will score points by choosing desserts featuring the favored teams' colors, logo or mascot. If your guests will include fans of both opposing teams, it will be best to either have desserts representing both sides, or serve desserts with a basic football theme. For a younger crowd, puffed-rice cereal treats can be made to look like footballs by adding cocoa to the mixture and then decorating with white icing to mimic the laces on a football.

Cookies are typically a good choice for Super Bowl® desserts for parties as they are easy to eat and can be made in a variety of shapes and flavors. Cut-out cookies can be made in football, jersey and helmet shapes and frosted using team colors. Cakes are another versatile option, and can be frosted to resemble a stadium or football field. Using a cake mold, you can make a nearly life-sized, football-shaped cake.

Bars and brownies are often featured as Super Bowl® desserts, including espresso caramel bars, five-layer bars and peanut butter brownies. It is best to offer a variety of bars, choosing different flavors in an effort to have options for all of your guests' tastes. For younger palates, choose sweeter options, such as S'more brownies and triple chocolate brownies.

Guests at Super Bowl® parties offer nibble for extended periods of time, so it is best to choose desserts which are safe to serve at room temperature. It is typically best to avoid Super Bowl® desserts which require refrigeration or need to be heated or served with a warmed sauce. When choosing Super Bowl® desserts, it is also important to consider the dietary restrictions and food allergies of your guests. Consider making sugar-free dessert options along with desserts made without peanuts or peanut oil.