Serving Up Super Bowl Faves: Three Last-Second Recipes for a Fantastic Football Buffet

Over the last couple weeks, we asked for some of your favorite game-day recipes. And our readers did not disappoint! We received some great options to make any buffet better, just read on and see for yourself. Whether you’re watching the Super Bowl with friends and family or retreating from the noise to watch by yourself (free from distraction), we hope you enjoy this worldwide event!

Even though “football” is at the center of it all, there are multiple reasons to love the Super Bowl. On this particular Sunday, people look forward to food, commercials, football and catching up with loved ones. And that last reason is why Unruh loves the Super Bowl: people coming together. All of our products create better spaces in your home. Dining room tables, TV stands and coffee tables are staple items to enhance any Super Bowl watch party. Between recipes, we give you a few Unruh furniture options. Because even if it’s too late to order a piece for this year’s Super Bowl, we all know 2021 will be here before we know it.

Bacon-Wrapped Jalapeno Poppers

– 20 fresh jalapeños, 2 to 3 inches in size

– Two 8-ounce packages cream cheese, slightly softened 

– 1 pound thin (regular) bacon, slices cut in half

Jane from Prairie Village sent this recipe in for Bacon-Wrapped Jalapeño Poppers. And she gave a rightful nod to Pioneer Woman for this amazing recipe, but we just had to share with you all. If you enjoy a subtle kick to your appetizer, look no further than this amazing recipe.

1. Preheat the oven to 275. degrees F. Place rack over baking sheet.

2. Cut the jalapeños lengthwise. Remove seeds and white membranes. Spread cream cheese inside the jalapeño halves, and wrap with ½ slices of bacon. Place on rack.

3. Bake 40 to 45 minutes. Spend that time contemplating if you’re really ready to share these at all. If you aren’t ready to share, remove from oven when the poppers are done and take them to a room by yourself. If you do share . . .

4. Serve immediately. Spread the love (and heat) with these pleasant little poppers.

Pillsbury Crescent Dogs

– 2 cans (8 oz each) Pillsbury™ refrigerated crescent rolls

– 48 cocktail-size smoked link sausages or hot dogs (from two 14-oz packages)

Nicole from Kansas City directed us to this simple, more traditional appetizer than that of the poppers. You can’t go wrong with these “crescent dogs” (or the widely known “pigs in a blanket”) for your Super Bowl celebration. Why? Because somewhere deep in the recesses of Pillsbury factories is a buttery, flaky crescent roll recipe that has hypnotized all of society.

1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

2. Unrolling both cans of dough should get you 16 total triangles. Cut each of those triangles into three smaller triangles (giving you 48 total).

3. Roll each smoked link sausage up in the dough to make your crescent dog and place on baking sheet.

Side Note: Before moving forward with our dessert recommendation, let us make a pitch for the standard veggie tray. Our last couple suggestions are a little heavier on cals, but a DIY veggie tray or one from the store is essential for any watch party. Just think: the more colorful your Super Bowl buffet, the better. Now speaking of color . . .

KC Chief Confetti Cookies

– 3 cups (375 grams) all-purpose flour

– 1 teaspoon baking powder

– 1/4 teaspoon baking soda

– 3/4 teaspoon fine sea or table salt

– 1 cup (8 ounces, 225 grams or 2 sticks) unsalted butter

– 1/4 cup (2 ounces, 55 grams or 1/4 of an 8-ounce brick) cream cheese

– 1 1/4 cups (250 grams) granulated sugar

– 1 large egg

– 2 teaspoons vanilla extract or 1/2 a vanilla bean, split and scraped (see Note up top)

– 1/4 teaspoon almond extract (optional)

– 1 cup RED AND YELLOW sprinkles

Now that you’ve got some protein and veggies, let’s move onto this sweet cookie concoction. Sarah from Leawood directed us to SmittenKitten.com for their Confetti Cookies. You’ll find their recipe below, but with a small twist: red and yellow sprinkles in place of rainbow, of course! You know we have to root root root for the home team. Walk through the door with these babies and immediately become the life of the party. 

*Heat oven to 375 degrees.

Line two baking large sheets with parchment paper.

To make in a food processor: Place flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in the work bowl and pulse a few times to blend. Add butter and cream cheese in large chunks, plus sugar and blend until mixture is powdery. Add egg, vanilla and almond extracts and run machine until the dough balls together. You’ll probably need to scrape it down once or twice to get the mixture even.

To make with an electric mixer: Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl and whisk to blend. In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, beat cream cheese, butter and sugar until fluffy. Add egg and extracts and blend again. Add flour mixture and beat just until flour disappears. In some cases, this dough will feel too soft to roll into balls in your hands; if so, let it chill in the fridge for 20 minutes or so before using.

Both methods:

Scoop balls of dough — I like these cookies best with a #40, or 1 1/2 tablespoon, scoop; the texture is less dynamic when made smaller — and roll them briefly in the palms of your hands before dropping them in a bowl of rainbow sprinkles and gently rolling to coat them evenly. I find that the sprinkles adhere much better to tacky exterior of balls of dough that have been briefly warmed by your hands — trust me here.

Transfer balls of sprinkle-coated dough to baking sheets at least two inches apart. Use the bottom of a drinking glass to press down on the cookies until they are about 1/4 to 1/2-inch tall. If you see any bare spots in the sprinkles that bother you, you can sprinkle a few more on top. Bake for 9 to 10 minutes until they look under-baked but lightly golden underneath. [If they’re not quite soft in the center, they will be fully crisped through the next day.] Let set on the baking sheet on a rack for a few minutes before transferring to cooling racks to cool the rest of the way. Repeat with remaining cookie dough.

*This excerpt is from www.smittenkitchen.com. Check out their site for more recipe ideas!