Football Cookie Cups

Ingredients

• ½ cup unsalted butter 1 stick, 113g, room temp
• ½ cup granulated sugar 100g
• ¼ cup light brown sugar 50g
• 1 large egg room temp
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 ¼ cups all purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt

Buttercream:

• ½ cup unsalted butter 1 stick, 113g, room temp
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons milk or heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• Green food coloring

For The Chocolate Almonds:

• 22 almonds
• ¾ cup milk chocolate or dark, for dipping the almonds + to add to cookie cups
• 2 tablespoons melted white chocolate

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 350°F/180°C, and lightly spray a mini muffin pan with non-stick cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl, using a hand electric mixer, beat the butter with the sugars until light and creamy. Then add the egg and vanilla extract and beat until combined. Finally, add flour, baking powder, and salt, and beat again at low speed until just combined.
3. Using a small cookie scoop, divide the cookie dough between 22 of the cookie cups. Bake for 12 minutes. Remove from the oven, and while the cookies are still warm, push down the centers using a measuring teaspoon so that there is room to add melted chocolate.
4. Melt chocolate in the microwave or in a double boiler. Add about 1 teaspoon of melted chocolate to each cookie cup. Allow to set before adding frosting. Place the cookie cups in the freezer to speed up the process.

Make Buttercream:

1. In a large bowl, using an electric hand mixer, beat the butter until creamy and then gradually add the powdered sugar. Add the milk, vanilla, and food coloring and beat again. You can adjust the consistency of the frosting if needed by adding more powdered sugar or milk.

Create Chocolate Footballs:

1. Dip each almond into the remaining melted chocolate and allow the chocolate to set.
2. Add the buttercream to a piping bag fitted with a grass tip and pipe frosting into each cooled cookie cup. Top with almond footballs, then melt white chocolate and add to a piping bag with a #3 tip. Pipe on the lines to create footballs.