These Football Sugar Cookies feature a buttery, soft cookie base decorated with rich royal icing reflecting a football stadium for the perfect game-day treat. With simple ingredients like flour, sugar, butter, and vanilla, these festive cookies are easy to make and fun to customize with team colors.
The Perfect Game Day Treat
Over the years I’ve been a part of the fantasy football wives club and gradually become OBSESSED with the game. Especially with the Lion’s getting better over the years, I am so invested. It’s so fun to rally for a big game and what better way to celebrate than with some fun game day treats.
For game day appetizers, I usually lean savory. Like these Healthy Buffalo Chicken Dip, these Rotisserie Chicken Hawaiian Sliders, or these Jalapeño Shrimp Poppers. But I decided I needed some sweet treats for Super Bowl Sunday on the blog, too.
And with that, these Football Sugar Cookies came to life. It starts with a simple sugar cookie base that is cut into simple circles. Once baked and cooled, the decorating is the fun part!
I made both stadium cookies as well as football shaped cookies, both perfect for football season. These cut-outs are great to use. The Stadium ones are more involved when it comes to decorating, but nothing too crazy with helpful step by step below. Make them custom for your favorite team adding different color frosting and sprinkles as you see fit. Happy decorating!
Recipe Inspiration
This cookie is based off my Sister’s Shortbread Christmas Cookies. My youngest sister, however, is the ‘cookie queen’ in our house; so over the holidays, she developed this recipe for us (I simply ate the product – tough job, I know! Someone’s gotta do it!).
FEATURED COMMENT
Delicious – I will have to make again for the Super Bowl this weekend because the first batch disappeared too quickly! – Sante
Recipe Ingredients
- Butter – the base to every shortbread cookie!
- All Purpose Flour – the structure of the cookie and compliment of the butter.
- Meringue Powder – this is the KEY to our frosting. It’s available at most grocery stores and a pantry staple.
See the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
Cookie Customizations
Make these as complex or simple as you’d like! When it comes to decorating here are some other ideas:
- Keep it simple and just do green frosting with white stripes for the field and skip the sprinkles
- Alternate some with black & white stripes for the referee’s jersey
- Add the number of your favorite player
- Do a green frosting with X’s & O’s like a playbook
- If you don’t like sprinkles, you can achieve the look of ‘fans’ with small dots of colorful icing if desired.
How to Make Football Sugar Cookies
1. In a kitchenaid stand mixer, combine room temperature butter and sugar for 5-8 minutes until totally combined (scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed).
Add the eggs, almond and vanilla extract into the batter and continue to mix with the electric mixer.
2. Then sift the dry ingredients: all purpose flour, baking powder and salt (use a wire strainer if needed). Mix again. Once combined, cover with plastic wrap and chill for 1 hour (often I’m making these in the winter so I will put them in the garage or out on my deck and it chills much faster).
3. Lightly flour a clean work surface and place the chilled dough on top. Use a rolling pin to flatten the sugar cookie dough, rolling until its about ⅛”-¼” thick. It needs to be even for an even bake! Continue to sprinkle flour if the rolling pin is sticking to the dough.
4. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Use a 2″-3” diameter circle cookie cutter to cut out the cookies from the rolled-out dough. Place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes. These cookies don’t spread much so you can keep them close. I fit 12 per baking sheet. Note: baking times may vary on oven & cookie sheets. Keep a close eye on the cookies so they don’t burn.
5. Remove the cookies from the baking sheet, transfer to a wire rack. Allow them to cool completely prior to frosting (you can pop them back outside – covered of course!)
6. While the cookies cool, make the icing. A stand mixer with a whisk attachment is necessary to get the desired consistency here. Add powdered sugar, warm water, meringue powder, and almond and lemon extract to the bowl of your standing mixer. Mix for 7-10 minutes until super fluffy !!! Remove ⅓ of the icing once finished and put into another mixing bowl. Stir in green food coloring until it’s a football field looking-green. Note: It will dry darker than it looks in the bowl. Transfer both the green icing and white icing you set aside into separate piping bags.
Decorating
7. Ice the cookies. We want the cookie half white and half green. Start with a white line down the middle of the cookie, then drag it along the outer edge of the cookie (giving you a closed half moon shape). Then fill in the outline with white frosting, using a toothpick to spread & fill it as necessary (we don’t want it too thick!).
8. While the frosting is still wet, place the cookie into a bowl and pour sprinkles onto the wet icing so it sticks.
9. Complete the white on all of the cookies before moving to the green. Note: Keep your white frosting in a warm-ish place so it doesn’t harden – you’ll be using it again for the yard lines.
10. Once the white frosting is completely dry, move onto the turf. On the half opposite the ‘stands’ outline the same white half moon that you did with the white, starting with a white line down the center then looping around the outer edge of the cookie. Fill this in with green frosting and let harden.
11. Once the green is set, add the white yard lines. With your white piping bag, draw a horizontal line between the white and green halves of your cookie. This distinguishes the turf from the stands more prominently. Then, add a vertical line across the green frosting from the horizontal line you just drew to the outer edge of the cookie.
12. Then add field lines on either side of this, somewhat on an angel starting from the horizontal line out to the outer edge of the cookie (see photos). I fit two additional white lines on each side of the center.
13. Add a 5 and a 0 on either side of the center line to represent the 50 yard line, add hashes between each of the larger lines you drew and let set.
14. Arrange the decorated cookies on your serving plate and enjoy!
PRO TIPS
The KEY to the frosting is the MERINGUE POWDER. Do not let this scare you – its sold in the baking aisle of most grocery stores and a great staple to have in your baking cabinet.
Cookie Storage and Freezing 🍪
These can be stored in an airtight container either on the counter or the refrigerator if you like a chewy, chilled cookie. In your storage container, add a piece of bread (I like to use the end piece of a loaf). The cookies will draw out the moisture from the bread and keep your cookies soft.
You can also freeze these cookies baked or unbaked.
- To freeze unbaked dough, scoop, roll in the sugar and place on a cookie sheet as if you’re going to bake them. Place the entire cookie sheet in the freezer for 3-4 hours until each dough ball is frozen (this’ll prevent them from sticking together). Then, place in a Ziplock or airtight container until ready to bake. You can bake the dough balls from frozen for 2-3 extra minutes.
- To freeze baked cookies, allow them to cool completely before adding to a freezer bag or airtight container. I recommend layering parchment paper between each cookie stack. This will prevent the cookies from freezing altogether.
Recipe FAQs
To prevent royal icing from cracking, you need to ensure it’s the right consistency. You do not want it super thick, but rather like Elmer’s glue when you’re frosting your cookies. Add more water, a tablespoon at a time, as needed to thin out the frosting. You also want to ensure you have thin, even layers. Thick layers are prone to cracking, so do your best to spread the cookie icing.
Lastly, avoid too dry of an area. Dry air can cause icing to dry too quickly and crack, so if you have a room with a humidifier, let your cookies dry in there. A little humidity helps keep it smooth.
Work in batches – With multiple colors, only pour out what you need and keep the rest covered with a damp (not soaking) paper towel over your icing bowls to prevent crusting.
Keep Piping Bags Sealed – When not in use, store piping bags in a cup with a damp paper towel at the tip or place them in a sealed bag.
Place wooden dowels on either side of the dough and rest the rolling pin on top, ensuring a consistent thickness as you roll. You can also use two #2 pencils if you don’t have any dowels as these are approximately ¼ an inch.
I also suggest rolling the dough between two sheets of parchment or wax paper, which prevent sticking and helps keep it even.
Your cut-out cookies are done baking when they appear set and lightly golden brown around the edges but still pale on top. If the surface of your cookies still looks wet or glossy, they need more time. It is better, however to slightly under bake cookies rather than over bake them.
Serving suggestions
Hosting a super bowl party? Whip up this Healthy Buffalo Chicken Dip as an appetizer, make this Turkey Sweet Potato Chili for your main and serve these adorable football cookies for dessert!
More Recipes You’ll Love
Love this recipe? Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 rating and comment in the recipe card below. Thanks for visiting!
Football Sugar Cookies
Equipment
- stand mixer
- Sifter
- cookie sheet
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Rolling Pin
- circle cookie cutters
- piping bags
- toothpicks
Ingredients
Cookies
- 2 sticks unsalted butter, 1 cup
- 1 cup cane sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp almond extract
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
Icing
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 5 tbsp warm water**, dependent on thickness
- 3 tbsp meringue powder
- ½ tsp almond extract
- ½ tsp lemon extract
- 3 oz colorful sprinkles
- green food dye
Instructions
Make Cookies
- In a kitchenaid stand mixer, combine room temperature butter and sugar for 5-8 minutes until totally combined (scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed).
- Add the eggs, almond and vanilla extract into the batter and continue to mix with the electric mixer.
- Then sift the all purpose flour, baking powder and salt into the batter (sifting is KEY). Mix again but don't over mix. Once combined, cover with plastic wrap and chill for 1 hour (often I’m making these in the winter so I will put them in the garage or out on my deck and it chills much faster).
- Lightly flour a clean work surface and place your chilled dough on top. Use a rolling pin to flatten the sugar cookie dough, rolling until its about ⅛”-¼” thick. It needs to be even for an even bake! Continue to sprinkle flour if the rolling pin is sticking to the dough.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Use a 2-3” diameter circle cookie cutter to cut out the cookies from the rolled-out dough.
- Place cookies on ungreased cookie sheets (can also use parchment paper) and bake for 10-12 minutes. These cookies don’t spread much so you can keep them close. I fit 12 per baking sheet. Note: baking times may vary on oven & cookie sheets. Keep a close eye on the cookies so they don’t burn.
- Remove the cookies from the baking sheet, transfer to a wire rack. Allow them to cool completely prior to frosting (you can pop them back outside – covered of course!)
Make Icing
- While the cookies cool, make the icing. A stand mixer with a whisk attachment is necessary to get the desired consistency here. Add powdered sugar, warm water, meringue powder, and almond and lemon extract to the bowl of your standing mixer. Mix for 7-10 minutes until super fluffy!!! Tip to add the water in SMALL increments until the frosting has enough structure (kind of like Elmers glue) Remove ⅓ of the icing once finished and put into another mixing bowl. Stir in green food coloring until it's a football field looking-green. Note: It will dry darker than it looks in the bowl.
- Transfer both the green icing and white icing you set aside into separate piping bags.
Decorate
- Ice the cookies. We want the cookie half white and half green. Start with a white line down the middle of the cookie, then drag it along the outer edge of the cookie (giving you a closed half moon shape). Then fill in the outline with white frosting, using a toothpick to spread & fill it as necessary (we don’t want it too thick!). See the tips in the 'icing' section above for more details & Q/A if needed.
- While the frosting is still wet, place the cookie into a bowl and pour sprinkles onto the wet icing so it sticks.
- Complete the white on all of the cookies before moving to the green. Note: Keep your white frosting in a warm-ish place so it doesn’t harden – you’ll be using it again for the yard lines.
- Once the white frosting is completely dry, move onto the turf. On the half opposite the ‘stands’ outline the same white half moon that you did with the white, starting with a white line down the center then looping around the outer edge of the cookie. Fill this in with green frosting and let harden.
- Once the green is set, add the white yard lines. With your white piping bag, draw a horizontal line between the white and green halves of your cookie. This distinguishes the turf from the stands more prominently. Then, add a vertical line across the green frosting from the horizontal line you just drew to the outer edge of the cookie.
- Then add field lines on either side of this, somewhat on an angel starting from the horizontal line out to the outer edge of the cookie (see photos). I fit two additional white lines on each side of the center.
- Add a 5 and a 0 on either side of the center line to represent the 50 yard line, add hashes between each of the larger lines you drew and let set.
- Arrange the decorated cookies on your serving plate and enjoy!
Nutrition
Video
Notes
more of our favorite Cookie Recipes…
- Easy Peanut Butter Cookies
- Oatmeal Snickerdoodles
- Chocolate Chip Cherry Cookies
- Lucky Charms Cookies
- Halloween Candy Cookies
- Kit Kat Cookies
- No Bake Chocolate Oatmeal Cookie
- Funfetti Cookie Recipe
- Easy Peppermint Chocolate Cookies
- Avalanche Cookies (No Bake)
- Christmas Shortbread Cookie
- Pretzel Cookies
- Ricotta Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Pistachio Chocolate Chip Cookies
Looking for this in MyFitnessPal?
If you’re using MyFitnessPal, search ‘A Paige Of Positivity’ and find FOOTBALL STADIUM COOKIES calories and nutrition facts. Disclaimer: for most accurate macronutrients and caloric breakdown, it is recommended that you input each ingredient into your MyFitnessPal food diary.
I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below. It’s my passion to create dishes that can be shared with others. Tell me something you loved or just say hi!
everything about these cookies – LOVE!
Delicious – I will have to make again for the Super Bowl this weekend because the first batch disappeared too quickly!
Such a fun recipe! Emmy’s angel cookies are always a HIT in my house around the holiday season, so these for the Superbowl are a must make!! Thanks for sharing!!
In the words of Sharpay, these cookies are FABULOUS!