food
By Taryn Pire
•
Published Jan 12, 2023
The biggest football game of the year is almost here, so you’re planning to host a killer watch party. While you have the appetizers (wings! nachos! chili!) all mapped out and the co*cktails on lock, there’s one course hosts may forget about until the day of: dessert. Instead of running to the supermarket for cupcakes last minute, why not serve one of these 32 Super Bowl desserts instead? They’re easy to prepare, prime for serving a crowd and, most importantly, delicious. Read on for all kinds of ideas, from mini treats to massive skillet confections.
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- Time Commitment: 4 hours and 45 minutes
- Why We Love It: make ahead, kid-friendly, crowd-pleaser
These are a no-brainer, especially if kids will be at the watch party. Start the dough on Saturday morning so it has plenty of time to chill, then roll, cut, bake and decorate on Sunday before your guests arrive.
Photo: Liz Andrew/Styling: Erin McDowell
2. Dessert Nachos
- Time Commitment: 1 hour
- Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, kid-friendly, beginner-friendly, <10 ingredients
Forget the cheese and salsa—these are about to become your go-to game day nachos. Think crispy fried tortilla chips topped with fresh whipped cream, caramel, hot fudge and raspberries.
Get the recipe
Amy Scott/Baking By Feel
3. S’mores Rice Cereal Treats
- Time Commitment: 1 hour and 20 minutes (includes cooling)
- Why We Love It: <10 ingredients, beginner-friendly, kid-friendly, make ahead
Make-ahead desserts are a hostess’s best friend. Might we suggest using a 50/50 mix of Rice Krispies and Golden Grahams cereals to drive the s’mores flavor home?
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4. Football Chocolate Chip-Peanut Butter Blondies
- Time Commitment: 1 hour
- Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, make ahead, kid-friendly
These beauties are expectedly indulgent, thanks to creamy peanut butter, chocolate and peanut butter chips and vanilla frosting. The whole wheat flour will be our little secret.
Katherine Gillen
5. ‘Swicy’ Caramel Corn
- Time Commitment: 35 minutes
- Why We Love It: make ahead, crowd-pleaser, <10 ingredients
A kiss of cayenne pepper transforms this old-school favorite. Prepare it the morning of (or even the day before), pour it into festive bowl and serve with a scoop to keep everyone’s fingers out of the popcorn.
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- Time Commitment: 30 minutes
- Why We Love It: special occasion-worthy, crowd-pleaser, make ahead
One way to ensure that a dessert will fit in at a Super Bowl party? Infuse it with booze. Stout beer enhances these cupcakes’ chocolatey flavor, which is rounded out with a flaky salt topping for an elegant finish.
Photo: Liz Andrew/Styling: Erin McDowell
7. Mini Skillet Funnel Cakes
- Time Commitment: 45 minutes
- Why We Love It: kid-friendly, crowd-pleaser, beginner-friendly
Casual is the name of the game when it comes to a football watch party, and these carnival favorites are just the ticket. Serve with chocolate or fruit dipping sauce, or dust with confectioners’ sugar and call it a day.
Photo: Liz Andrew/Styling: Erin McDowell
8. Strawberry Cheesecake Dip
- Time Commitment: 10 minutes
- Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, <10 ingredients, no bake, beginner-friendly, <30 minutes
Dips are an ingeniously low-lift way to feed a crowd in one fell swoop. (Even better, they tend to be no-bake and ready in a flash, just like this one.)
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- Time Commitment: 1 hour and 15 minutes
- Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, make ahead, special occasion-worthy
Bring on the chocolate Swiss meringue buttercream. If you want to avoid slicing, go the route of cupcakes instead to create a pull-apart cake.
David Frenkiel/Quick and Slow
10. Swirled Tahini Cups
- Time Commitment: 25 minutes
- Why We Love It: <30 minutes, crowd-pleaser, make ahead, <10 ingredients
This treat is just right for dairy-sensitive or gluten-free people on your guest list. Feel free to substitute maple syrup with honey or agave if you’d prefer.
Get the recipe
Katherine Gillen
11. Fluffernutter Fudge
- Time Commitment: 15 minutes
- Why We Love It: make ahead, kid-friendly, crowd-pleaser, <10 ingredients
This fudge tastes just like the nostalgic sandwich, yet it’s infinitely more impressive. You’ll only need 15 minutes, five ingredients and a refrigerator to pull it off.
Get the recipe
The Fearless Baker
12. Chocolate ‘High-Ratio’ Sheet Cake
- Time Commitment: 1 hour and 30 minutes
- Why We Love It: make ahead, crowd-pleaser, kid-friendly
Made with shortening instead of butter, high-ratio cakes turn out incredibly light, tender and moist. This one is crowned with a thick layer of dark chocolate ganache.
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Katherine Gillen
13. Dulce de Leche Skillet Brownie
- Time Commitment: 2 hours and 20 minutes
- Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, kid-friendly, special occasion-worthy
Behold: the fudgiest, gooiest brownie ever baked. To save some time and energy on your end, start with store-bought dulce de leche instead of preparing your own with condensed milk.
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14. Chocolate Chunk Cookie Dough Truffles
- Time Commitment: 45 minutes
- Why We Love It: <10 ingredients, no bake, make ahead, beginner-friendly
Good luck stopping after just one. Heat-treat the raw cookie mix before using it by spreading it onto a baking sheet and baking for about 10 minutes at 350°F.
Taryn Pire
15. Vegan Miso Caramel Dip with Pretzels and Granny Smith Apples
- Time Commitment: 20 minutes
- Why We Love It: <30 minutes, vegan, make ahead, <10 ingredients
Canned coconut cream gives this party dip a luxuriously rich texture without the help of butter or cream. Serve with fresh fruit, pretzels, cookies or ice cream.
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Photo: Liz Andrew/Styling: Erin McDowell
16. Triple Cookie Skillet Pie
- Time Commitment: 40 minutes
- Why We Love It: kid-friendly, beginner-friendly, crowd-pleaser
Your cast iron skillet is the key to baking desserts with a crunchy, caramelized exterior and a gooey center. Take your pick of classic chocolate chip, pretzel M&M-snickerdoodle or chocolate s’mores cookies.
Get the recipe
Photo: Liz Andrew/Styling: Erin McDowell
17. Mini Chocolate Snowball Cakes
- Time Commitment: 1 hour and 15 minutes
- Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, make ahead, kid-friendly
These handhelds taste like straight-up nostalgia. The cakes are unbelievably moist and tender, courtesy of buttermilk in the batter.
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Photo: Liz Andrew/Styling: Erin McDowell
18. Mini Yogurt Cheesecakes
- Time Commitment: 1 hour and 30 minutes
- Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, special occasion-worthy, beginner-friendly
They’re just fancy enough to wow your guests without disrupting the laid-back vibe. The topping is as easy as tossing pomegranate arils in pomegranate molasses.
Get the recipe
Katherine Gillen
19. Mini Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Time Commitment: 45 minutes
- Why We Love It: one bowl, crowd-pleaser, kid-friendly
When in doubt of your partygoers’ tastes, you can’t go wrong with this timeless classic. Their poppable size makes them all the more tantalizing.
Get the recipe
Photo: Liz Andrew/Styling: Erin McDowell
20. Cake Batter Dip
- Time Commitment: 5 minutes
- Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, no bake, <10 ingredients, <30 minutes
Rainbow sprinkles are always invited to the party. To heat-treat the cake mix without turning on the oven, simply place it in a microwave-safe bowl and warm it in 30-second intervals, stirring in between until it reaches 165°F throughout.
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21. Spiked Rice Krispie Treat Shake Shooters
- Time Commitment: 25 minutes
- Why We Love It: <10 ingredients, <30 minutes, beginner-friendly
Sorry kids, this milkshake—teeming with Marshmallow Fluff, vanilla ice cream and homemade crisped rice treats—is just for grown-ups. (If they’re really jealous, skip the vodka to let them get in on the fun.)
Photo: Matt Dutile/Styling: Erin McDowell
22. Blackberry Jam Pie Crust Straws
- Time Commitment: 35 minutes
- Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, make ahead, <10 ingredients, beginner-friendly
It really doesn’t get easier than brushing frozen puff pastry with store-bought jam and baking until crispy. Feel free to use any flavor you’d like—just don’t skip the cinnamon-sugar coating.
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Photo: Liz Andrew/Styling: Erin McDowell
23. Peanut Butter Dip
- Time Commitment: 10 minutes
- Why We Love It: no bake, <10 ingredients, <30 minutes, crowd-pleaser
Treat yourself to a bowl of sweet-and-salty bliss in the form of peanut butter-cream cheese dip. Salted peanuts offer texture, but we’d supplement plenty of crunchy dippers for good measure.
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- Time Commitment: 50 minutes
- Why We Love It: kid-friendly, beginner-friendly, crowd-pleaser
Speaking of sweet and salty, allow us to introduce your new favorite dessert. Store-bought caramel sauce is swirled atop the brownie batter before baking, so they look fussier than they actually are.
Katherine Gillen
25. Confetti Crust Hand Pies
- Time Commitment: 1 hour and 40 minutes
- Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, kid-friendly, make ahead
Yes, store-bought pie crust is easier than preparing your own…but your hard work will be worth it since the dough is studded with rainbow sprinkles.
Get the recipe
Photo: Liz Andrew/Styling: Erin McDowell
26. Slow Cooker Oreo Cheesecake
- Time Commitment: 5 hours and 30 minutes
- Why We Love It: slow cooker recipe, kid-friendly, crowd-pleaser
You take care of the pigs in a blanket, hot wings and spinach dip, and your Crockpot will handle dessert. Your guests will think you ordered the cheesecake from a fancy bakery.
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- Time Commitment: 1 hour and 15 minutes
- Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, make ahead, <10 ingredients, beginner-friendly
The only “baking” you’ll need to do is melting chocolate and peanut butter in the microwave—sound easy enough? Run a chef’s knife under hot water before slicing to cut through the chilled bars like butter.
Amy Scott/Baking by Feel
28. Sour Cream Sugar Cookies
- Time Commitment: 30 minutes
- Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, make ahead, kid-friendly, beginner-friendly
Nothing beats a sugar cookie encrusted in rainbow sanding sugar…except a sugar cookie spiked with tangy sour cream and a generous dose of vanilla extract, of course.
Get the recipe
Photo: Liz Andrew/Styling: Erin McDowell
29. Slow Cooker Salted Caramel Rice Pudding
- Time Commitment: 4 hours and 5 minutes
- Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, slow cooker recipe, <10 ingredients
This old-school dessert was long overdue for an update. Serve it warm straight from the Crockpot or chill it overnight before the Super Bowl party.
Get the recipe
Photo: Liz Andrew/Styling: Erin McDowell
30. No-Bake Dessert Lasagna
- Time Commitment: 1 hour and 10 minutes
- Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, kid-friendly, no bake
Your oven is already full of pizza bites and Philly cheesesteaks, so you shouldn’t have to stress over cramming in dessert too. Try this assemble-and-chill layered masterpiece—made with chocolate whip, cream cheese filling, Oreos and cherry jam—on for size instead.
Get the recipe
Photo: Liz Andrew/Styling: Erin McDowell
31. Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Dip
- Time Commitment: 5 minutes
- Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, <10 ingredients, <30 minutes, kid-friendly, no bake
Warning: You may want to make two batches, because the kids at the party will gobble the first up in seconds. Might we suggest adding mascarpone cheese to the mix for a cannoli-inspired twist?
Get the recipe
- Time Commitment: 15 minutes
- Why We Love It: no bake, beginner-friendly, crowd-pleaser
The easiest dessert recipes are those that aren’t really recipes at all. There are endless possibilities with a dessert charcuterie board, but some of our favorite inclusions are sliced strawberries, chocolate-hazelnut spread, shortbread cookies and caramel dip.
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Taryn Pireis PureWow’s associate food editor. A former bartender and barista, she’s been writing about all things delicious since 2016, developing recipes, reviewing restaurants and investigating food trends at Food52, New Jersey Family Magazine and Taste Talks. When she isn’t testing TikTok’s latest viral recipe, she’s having popcorn for dinner and posting about it on Instagram@cookingwithpire.
Taryn Pire
Food Editor
Taryn Pire is PureWow’s food editor and has been writing about all things delicious since 2016. She’s developed recipes, reviewed restaurants and investigated food trends at...
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