Cheesecake Sugar Cookie Football Cups

Preheat the oven to 350º F. Spray a muffin pan with non-stick cooking spray. Cut the sugar cookie dough into 12 pieces. Place one piece of dough into each muffin well. Use a 1/4 cup to push the dough down, forming a cup. Bake for 14-16 minutes or until the cups are golden. Allow them to cool completely before adding the cheesecake filling.

In a mixing bowl beat the cream cheese until smooth, 1-2 minutes. Add in the melted chocolate, beat again. Fold in the cool whip and mix with a spatula. Transfer the cheesecake mixture to a piping bag. Pipe cheesecake into each cookie cup. Use a spatula to smooth out the top.

To make the royal icing, combine the powdered sugar, meringue powder, and water in a mixing bowl and mix until the icing has a matte appearance, about 2 minutes. You may need to add a little more water to get the right consistency. You don’t want the icing to be runny, but have a thicker consistency, but you don’t want it to be too thick where you can’t get it out of the squeeze bottle. Transfer to a squeeze bottle or ziploc bag with one corner cut off.

Draw the center football stripe on each cookie cup. Allow the royal icing to harden for 5-10 minutes before adding the football stitches. Draw 3 stitches on each cookie cup.

Store in a container in the fridge until serving.