It is almost time for the Super Bowl, and what would a Super Bowl party be without some football-shaped snacks? Not only do these pretties have the right shape, they’re also low carb, high protein, and gluten free! Plus I have two different ways you can make them depending on what appeals to you. Read on for the recipe for these chocolate peanut butter footballs!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Footballs

This is a recipe I adapted from Low Carb Yum. I’ve said before here that I don’t love low carb sweeteners. So I’ve adapted this recipe to not need any, and still maintain a low carb profile. That being said, these aren’t super sweet so you can add some sweetener to it if you’d like.

The peanut butter base of this recipe is super simple. Melt butter and peanut butter, then stir in whey protein isolate powder and a little coconut flour. I use unflavored whey protein, but you could also use vanilla. Just watch the ingredients!

Pour this mixture into a 9×9 pan lined both directions with parchment that overhangs the edges slightly. My littlest helper is doing the pouring here. Spread evenly, then put in the freezer for about ten minutes or until set.

Ok, here is where I’m going to give you two different options for how to proceed.

Option 1: Chocolate on top

With this option, you’re going to melt some chocolate chips with a little coconut oil and spread evenly on top. Then put it back in the freezer until it’s just set, no more than five minutes and less is better.

Once the chocolate is just barely set, lift the bars out of the pan by the parchment handles and cut out football shapes with a cookie cutter. I used the second-from-the-smallest size from this set. Depending on how set your chocolate is, you may need to dip the cookie cutter into hot water and dry off each time so that you don’t crack the chocolate.

As you can see, I had a couple of mine crack. They’ll still taste delicious, but obviously won’t look as nice. Dipping the cookie cutter in hot water definitely made a difference for me, but the water has to be really hot. I got 20 footballs out of this size pan.

Pros and Cons to This Method:

Pros:
-dealing with chocolate is simple
-gets very sharp edges on the footballs
-can see the layers so you know what it is right away
-you have peanut butter & chocolate scraps that you obviously have to snack on right away.
Cons:
-having to dip cutter in hot water is annoying
-must spread the chocolate perfectly smooth or the footballs will be uneven
-chocolate may still crack
-need to be kept cold as the peanut butter layer will get overly soft if left at room temperature for a long time.

Option 2: Dipped in chocolate

In option 2, you remove the peanut butter from the pan after it’s set in the freezer. You cut the footballs out of the peanut butter layer and then dip them in the melted chocolate.

Make sure you melt it in a smaller bowl so that the chocolate can be deep enough to dip well. I used a fork to dip the footballs. Make sure after you’ve dipped both sides that you tap the fork on the side of the bowl to get rid of excess chocolate. Then scrape the bottom of the fork against the side of the bowl before putting on wax paper.

As you can see, I did better getting the excess chocolate off some more than others. Transfer to the freezer to set up. You can use a sharp knife to cut off any chocolate blobs you have on the sides.

Pros and Cons to Method 2:

Pros:
-really smooth chocolate
-more stable at room temperature
-easy to cut with cookie cutter
-can take extra peanut butter scraps and roll into balls and then dip in chocolate to make truffles.
Cons:
-dipping each in chocolate takes a little extra time
-have to trim to get really nice football shapes
-can’t tell immediately what’s inside

Finishing

Whichever method you choose, finish the footballs with a little decoration by melting a small amount of white chocolate in the microwave. If you don’t want to use regular white chocolate, you can use a sugar free white chocolate, or you could make a little bit of icing with Swerve confectioners that you add some almond milk to until you get the right consistency. Pour into a disposable plastic sandwich bag and snip off one corner, leaving a small hole. Pipe the lines of the football laces in the center of each football.

Here’s what the finished product of Option 1 looks like.

Here’s Option 2.

The two options use about the same amount of chocolate, but as you can see, the dipped option has a thinner amount all over rather than the thicker top.

And here’s what the truffles made with the extra peanut butter layer look like. Totally worth it. [Insert Homer drool here.] 😉

Of course, you can go with Option 3 and just make them as bars and cut them into squares with a knife. That’s what we usually do with these. They don’t last long in my house.

Also– how cute would these be for Valentine’s Day if you cut them into heart shapes?

Continue to Content

Chocolate Peanut Butter Footballs

Print

These healthy chocolate peanut butter footballs are packed with protein but taste like dessert!

Prep Time 20 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 stick butter
• 1/2 cup (130g) natural peanut butter
• 2/3 cup (52g) whey protein isolate
• 2 Tbsp (12g) coconut flour
• Optional: a few drops stevia or 1-2 Tbsp powdered erythritol to taste
• 3/4 cup (120g) dark chocolate chips (85%) or sugar free chocolate chips
• 1 Tbsp coconut oil
• 1 oz. white chocolate

Instructions

1. Prepare a 9×9 square pan buy lining with 2 pieces of parchment that overhang on each side.
2. Melt butter and peanut butter in a microwave safe bowl or in a saucepan over low heat. Stir in protein powder, coconut flour, and sweetener if using. Stir until well mixed and completely smooth. Pour into prepared pan and chill in the freezer for at least 10 minutes or until fully set.
3. Option 1: Melt chocolate and coconut oil in the microwave or in a double boiler over simmering water. Pour over cooled peanut butter layer. Return to the freezer for a maximum of 5 minutes, just until chocolate has barely set. Remove from pan using parchment. Cut with football shaped cookie cutter. If chocolate cracks, dip cookie cutter in hot water & dry quickly with a paper towel between each cut.
4. Option 2: Remove chilled peanut butter layer from pan with parchment paper and cut with football cookie cutter. Melt chocolate and coconut oil in the microwave or in a double boiler over simmering water. Using a fork, dip each peanut butter football in chocolate on both sides. Tap to remove excess chocolate and place on wax paper to set. Once all footballs are coated in chocolate, transfer to the freezer to set.
5. Both Options: Once chocolate is fully set, melt white chocolate and transfer to a disposable sandwich bag. Snip a small corner off and pipe white chocolate onto footballs in lacing shape as shown. Return to freezer until set, then transfer to an airtight container and keep in refrigerator or freezer until ready to serve.

Notes

I got 20 footballs from each pan, but with the scraps from the second pan, I made five truffles. So when calculating the nutrition info, I divided the recipe into 25 to try to be as accurate per football as possible. If you use sugar free chocolate chips, the carb count will be lower. I didn't include the white chocolate in the nutrition count as the actual amount used is much smaller than the 1 oz that gets melted (it's difficult to work with any less) but a guess would be that it puts the net carbs up to 1.9g.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

20
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 106Total Fat: 9.2gSaturated Fat: 4.7gSodium: 28mgCarbohydrates: 2.4gNet Carbohydrates: 1.6gFiber: 0.8gSugar: 1gProtein: 4.4g

Please leave this field empty

WANT MORE?

SIGN UP TO RECEIVE MY NEWSLETTER AND GET A FREE GUIDE TO STARTING KETO!

First name *

Email Address *

We don’t spam! Read our privacy policy for more info.

I'm so glad you've joined us! Make sure to check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription.

Please leave this field empty

WANT MORE?

SIGN UP TO RECEIVE MY NEWSLETTER AND GET A FREE GUIDE TO STARTING KETO!

First name *

Email Address *

We don’t spam! Read our privacy policy for more info.

I'm so glad you've joined us! Make sure to check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription.