Ultimate Fudgy Football Brownies with Easy Vanilla Laces
Make these fudgy football brownies for your next game day gathering. They are simple to prepare and look great decorated like footballs with vanilla frosting laces.
- Prep Time: 20 min
- Cook Time: 30 min
- Total Time: 50 min
- Yield: 24 brownies 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (optional, for extra fudginess)
- 1 cup powdered sugar (for frosting)
- 2 tablespoons milk or cream (for frosting)
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (for frosting)
- Brown food coloring (gel preferred, for brownie base color if desired)
- White or yellow food coloring (for laces)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a 9×13 inch baking pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on the sides for easy removal. Lightly grease the paper.
- In a large bowl, whisk the melted butter and granulated sugar together until well combined.
- Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla extract.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, salt, and baking powder.
- Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing only until just combined. Do not overmix. Fold in the chocolate chips if using.
- Spread the batter evenly into the prepared baking pan.
- Bake for 25 to 30 minutes. A toothpick inserted near the center should come out with moist crumbs attached, not wet batter, for a fudgy texture.
- Let the brownies cool completely in the pan on a wire rack. Cooling is essential before cutting and decorating.
- Once cool, lift the brownies out of the pan using the parchment paper overhang and place them on a cutting board. Cut the brownies into rectangular football shapes.
- Prepare the frosting: In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla extract until smooth. Add more milk, a half teaspoon at a time, if the frosting is too stiff.
- If you want a richer brown color for the base frosting, mix in a tiny amount of brown food coloring. Spread a thin, even layer of this base frosting over the top of each cut brownie.
- Transfer the white or yellow frosting to a small piping bag fitted with a very fine round tip (or use a small zip-top bag with a tiny corner snipped off).
- Pipe two parallel lines down the center of each frosted brownie to create the football laces.
- Let the frosting set before serving. These are perfect Game Day Desserts.
Notes
- For an even fudgier texture, slightly underbake the brownies by about 2 minutes.
- If you are short on time, you can use a high-quality boxed brownie mix and follow the package directions for baking, then proceed with the decorating steps.
- To make mini football brownies, use a small cookie cutter after the brownies have cooled completely.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 brownie
- Calories: 250
- Sugar: 30
- Sodium: 150
- Fat: 13
- Saturated Fat: 8
- Unsaturated Fat: 5
- Trans Fat: 0
- Carbohydrates: 33
- Fiber: 1
- Protein: 3
- Cholesterol: 60