Football sugar cookies are a fun game-day treat made with a simple homemade dough and decorated to look like footballs. The cookies start with a classic mix of butter, sugar, flour, vanilla, and an egg to create a soft, sturdy base. Once baked, they're topped with smooth brown icing and finished with white laces for the full football look.
The icing uses a blend of powdered sugar, meringue powder, vanilla, and corn syrup to create a glossy, pipeable consistency. You can adjust the thickness depending on how detailed you want your decorations to be. These cookies hold their shape well, making them great for game-day parties, tailgates, or team celebrations.
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These are great because they're easy to prep ahead-once the icing sets, they can be stacked, transported, and stored for days. Their detailed football design makes them a standout dessert that doubles as décor for any football-themed gathering.
Ingredients
For the cookies:
- Sugar
- Butter - unsalted + softened
- Egg
- Vanilla
- Flour
For the icing + decorations:
- Sugar
- Meringue Powder
- Vanilla
- Water
- Corn Syrup
- Brown Food Coloring
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
Make your own cute football decorated sugar cookies with these simple directions.
Preparation: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line your baking sheets with parchment and set aside.
Step one: In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the sugar and butter. Cream until smooth.
Step two: Add in the vanilla and egg. Mix well.
Step three: Switch the mixer attachment to the paddle and add in the flour. Mix until the dough balls together and pulls away from the sides of the bowl. If your mixer is struggling, you can knead the dough by hand.
Step four: Using a lightly floured work surface, roll the cookie dough out until it's about ½ - ⅝ of an inch thick. Cut out dough using a football cookie cutter. Save and reroll the scrapes until the dough is too small to continue.
Step five: Carefully transfer your cut out dough to the parchment lined baking sheets. Bake in the preheated oven for 10-12 minutes.
Step six: For the soft-bite icing - In the bowl of the stand mixer, combine the 2 c powdered sugar, meringue powder and 1 t vanilla. Using the paddle attachment, mix on low speed for about 30 seconds. Add in 3 teaspoons worth of water as the mixer is going. Allow to mix until combined. Increase the speed to medium for another 2-3 minutes. The icing will be very stiff. Transfer to another bowl and cover with a damp paper towel.
Step seven: Using the same mixing bowl, combine the other 2 cups of powdered sugar, corn syrup, 2 tablespoons of water and the other teaspoon of vanilla. Mix on low speed until combined with the whisk attachment.
Step eight: Combine the two icing mixtures into one bowl and whisk until smooth. Add in additional water if needed to thin the mixture. Using a spatula, scoop a bit of icing up and allow it to drop back into the bowl. The icing should re-incorporate back into itself and settle within about a 12-15 second count. Continue to test if needed until desired consistency is achieved.
Step eight: Transfer about 1 cup of white to a piping bag. Tint the remaining icing brown. Then transfer the icing to another piping bag and tie the ends.
Step nine: Pipe the outside edge of the footballs with the brown food coloring. Use a scribe or a toothpick to help spread and settle the bumps and air pockets. Allow to set for about 30 minutes before following up with the white laces and stripes.
Recipe Tips for Success
- Too thin of icing will need a bit more powder sugar and too thick of icing will need another dash of water.
- Thin icing spreads nicely but can run over the edges of the cookie. Thick icing will not move - it is good for lettering and flowers.
- Over baking will cause hard cookies. Cookies are done when the edges are set and the center is no longer shiny.
Storage
Cookies will need about 24 hours for the icing to set before they can be stacked. During this time, they can be on a cooling rack or baking sheet at room temp. Once decorated and set, they need to be stored in an airtight container for up to a week or frozen for 3 months.
Football Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
for cookies
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup butter unsalted + softened
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 3 cup flour
For the icing + decoration
- 4 cup sugar divided
- 2 tablespoon meringue powder
- 2 teaspoon vanilla divided
- ¾ cup water divided
- 2 tbsp corn syrup
- brown food coloring
Instructions
For cookies
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line your baking sheets with parchment and set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the sugar and butter. Cream until smooth.
- Add in the vanilla and egg. Mix well.
- Switch the mixer attachment to the paddle and add in the flour. Mix until the dough balls together and pulls away from the sides of the bowl. If your mixer is struggling, you can knead the dough by hand.
- Using a lightly floured work surface, roll the cookie dough out until it's about ½ - ⅝ of an inch thick. Cut out dough using a football cookie cutter. Save and reroll the scrapes until the dough is too small to continue.
- Carefully transfer your cut out dough to the parchment lined baking sheets. Bake in the preheated oven for 10-12 minutes.
- Allow to cool before decorating.
For icing + decorations
- For the soft-bite icing - In the bowl of the stand mixer, combine the 2 c powdered sugar, meringue powder and 1 t vanilla. Using the paddle attachment, mix on low speed for about 30 seconds.
- Add in 3 teaspoons worth of water as the mixer is going. Allow to mix until combined. Increase the speed to medium for another 2-3 minutes.
- The icing will be very stiff. Transfer to another bowl and cover with a damp paper towel.
- Using the same mixing bowl, combine the other 2 cups of powdered sugar, corn syrup, 2 tablespoons of water and the other teaspoon of vanilla. Mix on low speed until combined with the whisk attachment
- Combine the two icing mixtures into one bowl and whisk until smooth. Add in additional water if needed to thin the mixture. Using a spatula, scoop a bit of icing up and allow it to drop back into the bowl. The icing should re-incorporate back into itself and settle within about a 12-15 second count. Continue to test if needed until desired consistency is achieved
- Transfer about 1 cup of white to a piping bag.
- Tint the remaining icing brown. Then transfer the icing to another piping bag and tie the ends.
- When ready to decorate, snip a tiny bit off the tip of the piping bag. You can always cut the hole bigger if the icing is not flowing as quickly as you'd like.
- Pipe the outside edge of the footballs with the brown food coloring. Use a scribe or a toothpick to help spread and settle the bumps and air pockets. Allow to set for about 30 minutes before following up with the white laces and stripes.
Notes
- Too thin of icing will need a bit more powder sugar and too thick of icing will need another dash of water.
- Thin icing spreads nicely but can run over the edges of the cookie. Thick icing will not move - it is good for lettering and flowers.
- Over baking will cause hard cookies. Cookies are done when the edges are set and the center is no longer shiny.
- Cookies will need about 24 hours for the icing to set before they can be stacked. During this time, they can be on a cooling rack or baking sheet at room temp. Once decorated and set, they need to be stored in an airtight container for up to a week or frozen for 3 months.
Nutrition
Nutrition information provided is just an estimate and may vary based on specific ingredients used.
