Recipe | Chocolate Brownie Super Bowl Footballs

Any post that start with the word 'chocolate' is a winner, in my book.

Especially when the recipe is easy, and you can make-ahead, and serve it in cute shaped football for a Super Bowl party, right?! 

Earlier this week I shared some easy and cool ideas to pulling off a fab Super Bowl party, and if you only copy one thing from that, then copy this recipe - It will be a hit with anyone, any age!

Brownies are one of my favorite recipe to make and to eat.

So it was my first thought for the sweet treat to complete my Super Bowl party menu.

That and the fact that this recipe lends itself superbly to being cut and decorated to look like a football, you know; because of the brown color?! Yep, genius! ;)

Click here for printable recipe

Ingredients:

* 550 g (1 1/4 lbs) plain chocolate pieces or chips

* 225 g ( 8 oz) butter 

* 3 eggs

* 30 ml (2 tbsp) freshly made strong coffee

* 225 g (8 oz) caster sugar 

* 75 g (3 oz) of self-raising flour (flour that already contains rising agent) - or use 1/2 a teaspoon of baking powder + 75 g of normal white flour

* 1.25 ml (1/4 tsp) salt

* 5 ml (1 tsp) vanilla extract

* Ready made vanilla-cream-cheese frosting for the decoration

Directions:

1) Grease and line a baking pan. It can be a round pan like I used, but square pan 22 x 29 cm (8 1/2 in x 11 1/2 in) will give yield more cuts.

2) Separate 225 g ( 8 oz) of the chocolate chunks or chips and set aside for later. Then melt the remaining chocolate with the butter in the microwave at 30 second intervals, stirring in between each interval, until all melted. Cool slightly to avoid scrambling when you  mix with eggs int he next step.

3) Mix eggs, coffee and sugar together in a bowl, and gradually add in the melted chocolate mixture. 

4) Fold int he flour, vanilla and the reserved chocolate chunks or chips from step 2.

5) Pour into the prepared tin and bake at 190 degrees C (375 F) or gas mark 5 for 40 to 45 minutes. Leave to cool and then refrigerate overnight. Refrigerating will ensure you have a stiffer brownie to work with, which makes the job much easier!

6) The following day, take brownie cake out of the fridge and cut circles using a 5 cm (2 in) round cookie cutter. Use the edge of the cutter to make football shapes as shown.

7) Place frosting into a a piping bag fitted with a No.3 or 4 round piping nozzle. Pipe the white lines as shown to decorate each football brownie.

Easy, right? If you have any kiddos lurking around, they'll love helping you make and decorate these bad boys. Only problem is, you may not have left to serve at the end of it ;)