I don't so much watch the Super Bowl as I go to the parties to eat the food and watch the commercials.
But when I was offered the opportunity to make a "Snackadium", or a sports stadium comprised of snacks, I thought...well, that's the kind of sports I can embrace, because this project would involve sweets and cuteness.
I decided that for my Snackadium, I would make it the most interesting sport I could think of: How to Catch a Unicorn.
I think it came out pretty cute, although if you have follow up questions such as "how is the unicorn scoring a goal if the object of the game is to capture a unicorn?", well, I am going to answer your question by saying "no follow up questions, please."
So, don't focus on the inconsistencies: focus on the cutness.
And the tastiness. The "field" is actually Pillsbury pizza dough, topped with green-tinted coconut which is held in place by sweetened condensed milk. The result is something like "coconut toast", a sweet I enjoyed in St. Louis, MO.
Lining the goal-posts are little nuggets of pure tastiness made using Pillsbury Crescent rolls, but instead of using them the classic way, I cut them into strips and rolled them up with a delicious cream cheese, cinnamon and sugar mixture. Nom nom.
The "benches" are really devil dogs, and the viewers are mostly teddy bear snaped snack crackers. Now if that's not cute and tasty I don't know what is!
I guess before I tell you how to make it I'll put in the disclaimer: I have partnered with Pillsbury through DailyBuzz to help promote their Crescent Roll and Pizza Crust products. I have been compensated for my time commitment to work with this product. However, my opinions are entirely my own and I have not been paid to publish positive comments. Thank you Pillsbury for this awesome opportunity to create a Snackadium!
Snackadium Royale
For the field
- 3 cups sweetened shredded coconut, tinted green
- 6 ounces sweetened condensed milk (more or less)
- 1 tube Pillsbury classic pizza dough
For the end zones and score sign
- 1 tube Crescent Rolls
- Cream cheese
- Cinnamon and brown sugar
For decorating:
- 1 devil dog, sliced in half
- 1 (empty) box Funfetti cake mix
- Cutouts (downloadable here)
- Character crackers for viewers
To make the field
Preheat oven to 400.
Meantime, spread the pizza dough into a jelly roll type pan.
Pre-bake for 8 minutes. Remove from oven, but keep the heat on.
Place 1-inch strips of parchment paper at intervals on the dough. This will "mask" it so that it will reveal white dough for the "end lines".
Gently, so as not to disturb the parchment, spread a small quantity of sweetened condensed milk on top. Sprinkle with tinted green coconut.
Bake for 8 more minutes before removing from the oven.
Let cool completely before removing the parchment strips. Remove any excess bits of green from the "lines".
To make the score sign
Preheat the oven to 375.
Remove and unroll crescent rolls from the tube. Cut one of the pre-scored "rectangles" out from the four that you'll see (each comprised of two triangle halves). Cut off 1/3 of the rectangle.
Using your fingers, smoosh the score marks together so that you have one rectangle a little smaller than a pop-tart.
Smear cream cheese over the rectangle, leaving about 3/4 inch clean on all sides. Score using a dull knife so that the cream cheese is in a "frame". This will keep the center part from puffing up too much.
Place on a baking sheet and bake for 7-8 minutes or until golden.
Decorate with gel icing or with cutouts which can be adhered with frosting. 
To make the end zone liners
Using the remaining dough, score the remaining three rectangles into three long strips each. Spread with cream cheese, and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. Roll up like little jelly rolls. Do the same for the short pieces of dough remaining from the rectangle you cut to make the score board.
Place on a baking sheet and bake for 7-8 minutes, or until golden. Some of the filling may ooze out. It's OK.
Once cooled, slice in half horizontally. Place halves, facing up, along the edges of the "field". You might have an extra one. Eat it.
Assembly
Cut an empty cake mix box in half vertically. Shorten each side so it is your desired height. You can use the strips you snipped off to shorten the boxes to add a divider within the seats (so you can have two rows of viewers).
Fill each empty box with tissue paper or rice to add height, and add "viewers" of your choosing--cutouts, animal shaped crackers, etc.
Place either half of your sliced devil dog in front of the seating box, cut side toward the back. These will be your "benches". Place more viewers on top; place a toothpick behind them if necessary to keep them in place.
Create your goal posts--I used a straw to make mine. Skewers would work, too.
If you would like to use my idea of the unicorn chasing game, I have created a downloadable PDF of my artwork here. You can cut them out and use them, too!
Sunday, January 13, 2013 
You know what I love best about the weekend? Lounging in my pajama jeans and browsing the interwebz for pretty pictures of cake, that's what! And on this dreary-weather Sunday, here are three that made me smile:
Cake by Whipped BakeshopSecond, I'm in "LOVE" with this Philadelphia-themed cake by Whipped Bakeshop! It was created for a corporate event, but it's anything but cookie-cutter, featuring some of Philadelphia's sweetest landmarks!
Thirdly, though this cake isn't new, I came across it again today and it made me smile. A gorgeous pattern, done by Eat Cake! in Newburyport, Massachusetts. And may I also use this space to congratulate them on their move to an even more fantastic location? The cakes are still to die for, though!
) for something called "Fudge Filled Dessert Strips", which sounded similar enough to call to mind that tasty chocolate slice. I sent him the recipe, and he made it and sent me pictures so I could share it with you, dear readers.
