Football Brownie Sandwiches

Tomorrow B and I are having friends over to watch the Super Bowl. While we have the food and appetizers planned, I wasn’t sure what we were going to do for dessert. I thought about Football Brownies or Cheeseburger Cupcakes, but wanted to try something new.

Then, I came across this recipe for what the blogger called “Football Whoopie Pies” – while I don’t consider them actual whoopie pies, they still looked perfect for the big game. Below, the recipe, borrowed with minimal changes, from Created By Diane.

Football Brownie Sandwiches

Here’s what you need:

For the footballs:

  • 1 box of brownie mix
  • Ingredients required to make brownies (according to the box) minus the water, I ended up needing 2 eggs and ¼ c vegetable oil
  • Cookie icing (here’s what I used) to draw the laces

For the buttercream sandwich filling:

  • 1 cup butter
  • 4 cups powdered sugar
  • 2 teaspoon vanilla
  • 4 tablespoons milk

Here’s what you do:

  • Mix together ingredients for brownie batter according to package, WITHOUT the water. If your brownie box has options for “fudgelike” brownies v. “cakelike” follow directions for “fudgelike.” Place brownie batter in a piping bag, and cut  a small slit at the end of the bag.
  • Create a football-shaped stencil, or use a cookie cutter. Draw the outline of footballs on parchment paper. Be sure to leave space between each football so that the footballs don’t run into one another – they will spread some when baking.
  • Line cookie sheets with the parchment paper.
  • Pipe the brownie mix to fill in the football shapes (see photo).
  • Bake brownies at 350 for 12-15 minutes. Since they are thin, watch to make sure they don’t burn – mine were done at exactly 12 minutes. Mine made 18 brownie footballs, or 9 sandwiches.
  • Cool completely before frosting!

  • While the brownies are baking and cooling, prepare the buttercream sandwich filling:
  • Beat butter until creamy.
  • Slowly add powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time.
  • Add vanilla and milk and continue to mix until well mixed.
  • Once cooled, decorate half of the footballs. Use the cookie icing to draw laces on half the brownie footballs. These will be the top of the sandwiches.
  • Top the remaining footballs with 2 heaping tablespoons of the buttercream. Spread evenly and top with the laced sandwich half.
  • Enjoy!

Hashtag Mom Will Make Your Mom Happy

Hashtag Mom is Brilliant.

“Honey, can you text me when you get in? I know it will be late but I’ll look at it in the morning.”

“Can you text me on your drive back to Cleveland? Just want to make sure you’re having safe travels.”

Does that sound familiar? Whenever I travel, no matter if it’s driving back to Cleveland from the holidays in NY, or flying out west for work, or driving to Toledo for a meeting, I often hear the above from my mom. While I usually groan (Moooooom, I’m in my mid-to-late twenties!), I almost always send a text or a few along the way and when I arrive.

Getting tired of texting mom? Wish that your tweets, Facebook and foursquare check-ins were enough? That’s where the brilliant folks at #mom come in. They’ve started a service that texts your mom for you! Here’s how it works – tag your Foursquare check in with the hashtag “#mom” and your mom receives a text OR a call! What does this mean? No more worried moms!

Visit http://hashtagmom.com to learn more.

 

Yet another one of those “Why didn’t I think of that?” ideas. Pure brilliance.

(via http://sarahsfav.es/).