The Perfect Basketball Bracket Snack Boards

March is upon us and you know what that means…Basketball Brackets, which refers to the championship tournaments for the NCAA Division where all teams are placed within a “bracket,” in which they face off against an opponent in a single-elimination game.

If you have never attended or hosted a watch party, I have to tell you it’s SO much fun. There are games, trivia, and ,of course, great food. I’m so excited to share with you two recipes that will please any crowd. One is the perfect mix of finger foods and the second will satisfy your sweet tooth. Are you Snack Bracket Ready? You will surely enjoy watching the game with these great snack boards and what’s even better is that you can find all the ingredients at your local Commissary.

Easy Slam Dunk Snacking Board

A snack board doesn’t have to just be charcuterie. Enjoy this mix of fun spreads and dip with fruit, veggies, crackers and nuts when entertaining friends for a big game.

Prep Time: 15 min Total Time: 15 min Makes 6 servings.

Ingredients:

• Herb cheese spread, cheddar cheese spread and prepared spinach dip
• RITZ Toasted Chips Original
• WHEAT THINS Original Snacks
• Seedless green and red grapes
• Orange, red and yellow pepper strips
• Mixed nuts

Directions:

• Place cheese spreads and dip on a large board or platter.
• Add RITZ Chips and WHEAT THINS to board.
• Fill in empty spaces on board with fruit, vegetables and a small bowl of nuts.
• Serve additional WHEAT THINS and RITZ Chips in bowls or baskets next to the board.

Notes:

• Cheese spread and dip boards can be prepared for any number of servings, depending on the size of the gathering. Use a guideline of 2 Tbsp. cheese spread or dip, and 1 oz. of chips or snacks per person.
• For a well-balanced board, fill in empty spaces on board with fruit and cut-up fresh veggies. For the 6 servings shown here, figure on purchasing a total of 3/4 cup of spreads and dip.
• Have plenty of RITZ Toasted Chips and WHEAT THINS Snacks available for guests to choose from along with the fruit and veggies.
• Make it Simple – Prepared dips and spreads can be purchased from your supermarket. For added convenience, look for pre-cut vegetables in the refrigerated produce section of your supermarket.
• Vary the Fruits and Vegetables – Choose fruits that are in season and have complementary flavors and shapes, such as
• clusters of grapes, sliced crisp apples and soft berries. An assortment of vegetables adds both interest and crunch.

Final Buzzer Dessert Board

Don’t forget dessert when you’re prepping food for a big game! Make this fun platter of delicious sweet bites of cookies and fruit ahead of the game and enjoy your guests!

Prep Time: 10 min Total Time: 10 min Makes 4 servings.

Ingredients:

• CHIPS AHOY! Cookies
• OREO Cookies
• Fresh strawberries and raspberries
• Chocolate pudding snacks
• Vanilla low-fat Greek-style yogurt topped with fruit spread
• Multi-colored sprinkles

Directions:

• Place cookies and berries on a large board or platter.
• Fill small bowls with the pudding, yogurt and sprinkles, then place on the board.

Notes:

• Cookie and fruit boards can be prepared for any number of servings, depending on the size of the gathering. Use a guideline of 1 oz. cookies and 2 Tbsp. pudding or yogurt per person. For the 4 servings shown here, you will need 6 EACH OREO and CHIPS AHOY! Cookies, and 1/4 cup EACH pudding and yogurt, as well as a small amount of sprinkles. Have plenty of additional fresh berries for the guests to satisfy their sweet tooths without overindulging.
• Strawberry Basketballs
  • A few strawberries can be decorated to resemble basketballs. Dip strawberries into melted semi-sweet baking chocolate. Place on parchment-covered rimmed baking sheet. Refrigerate 15 min. or until chocolate is firm. Use orange decorating icing to draw seams on basketballs. Place the strawberry basketballs on the CHIPS AHOY! Cookies before placing them on the snacking board.
• OREO Referees
  • Decorate a few OREO Cookies to resemble referees. Dip cookies halfway into melted white baking chocolate, then place in a single layer on a parchment-covered baking sheet. Use melted semi-sweet baking chocolate to draw stripes on tops of cookies as shown in photo. Use white chocolate to attach 2 candy eyes to the top of each cookie. Decorate cookies with sprinkles as shown in photo, using melted white chocolate to attach sprinkles to cookies. Refrigerate 15 min. or until chocolate is firm. Place OREO Referees on board just before serving.

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