Super Bowl XLIII Food #5: Sweets

As you may have gathered from this week’s other food posts I firmly believe that no matter how healthy you eat the rest of the year, a Super Bowl party is no place for salads and rice cakes.  That said, there is one key category I haven’t touched on as yet, sweets.  I can say with near absolute certainty that if a dessert is present to me I’m going to love it.  That’s just how I am.  What about your party though?  What are your guests going to want and like?  Not surprisingly I have some thoughts on that.

Think homemade.  Even if its something dirt simple I think it always has a bigger impact if you put some effort in to it.  Like the other foods this week, I’d stick with something fairly simple and quick, unless you can make it the day before.  If that’s the case, go nuts.  Some quick, easy options:

Cupcakes – Tiny cakes are always good.  Get a good quality mix, or make them completely from scratch.  For the frosting I’d highly recommend whipping up a batch of your own as it will always taste better than the tubs of frosting you can buy.  My personal favorite is carrot cupcakes with cream cheese frosting.  So good.

Brownies – Another one you could buy at the store but will be much better made at home, even from a mix.  I usually reach for the Ghirardelli Double Chocolate brownie mix and throw in about 1/2 – 1 cup of walnuts.

Cookies – You name it and they’re going to be awesome.  Were I coming to your house for a party I’d vote for some oatmeal chocolate chip cookies that are still a little moist in the middle, but that’s just me.  Colton suggested some sugar cookies iced to look like tiny footballs.  Although they do sound good, it sounds like a lot more work than I’d be willing to put in to sugar cookies.

Chocolate Fondue – This is Lucas’ choice for this year.  He’ll be serving it with fruit and cookies for dipping.  Some other tasty dipping options are pound cake and marshmallows.  If you’re wanting to booze this one up you could also add a bit of a flavorful liqueur to your dipping chocolate.  Amaretto and Kalhua spring to mind as winners.

Those are all great options but I have one final suggestion that ties in to the theme of a Super Bowl in Florida.  Make up a homemade key lime pie or two.  If you’ve never had real key lime pie made from scratch you are missing out on some serious deliciousness.  Below is the recipe I was given via a food newsgroup back in the mid 90’s when the internet was just getting rolling.  It’s always come out fantastic and I’ve never felt the need to change it up.

Key Lime Pie

4 Egg Yolks
1 14 oz Can of Sweetened Condensed Milk
1/2 cup Key Lime Juice (I use Nelly and Joe's)
Zest of One Lime
8" or 9" Graham Cracker Crust
Fresh Whipped Cream

1) Preheat oven to 350F
2) Combine yolks, condensed milk, lime juice and zest with a mixer.
3) Pour the filling in to the crust and smooth with a spatula.
4) Bake for 15-20 minutes to firm filling.
5) Chill for at least an hour.
6) Top with fresh whipped cream.

Some quick comments on this recipe.  The filling that results from this recipe will only fill about 1/2 of the pie shell, the other 1/2 can be filled with whipped cream.  However, what I usually do is double the recipe so that it fills the crust completely and bake for 30-40 minutes.  Then still top the slices with fresh whipped cream.  Another twist is you can chiffonade mint and add it to the whipped cream once you’ve gotten to firm peaks.  This adds another layer of flavor and works well with the lime.