This shop/post has been compensated by Collective Bias, INC. and The Coca-Cola Company, all opinions are mine alone. #ServeWithACoke #BowlGames #CollectiveBias

With the new year kicking off soon, I’ve been in the process of shifting gears from all of the holiday madness to game day central in my my house. Some of the biggest football games of the year are happening very soon, and my family is pumped to be rooting on our favorite team in a bowl game at the start of the year!

After taking a quick look at the weather earlier this week, I was surprised to see the temps going into the new year are really low for this area. (It’s not that uncommon to see people walking around in short sleeves during this time of year in this finicky Alabama weather, so it certainly came as a surprise!) It’ll definitely be cuddle weather during the viewing of the big game this year, so I’m making sure that the game day grub is on point to bring the heat and warm things up a bit!

I’ve already stocked up on our very favorite game day essential: Ice cold Coca-Cola™! We love to keep the fridge stocked with classic Coca-Cola during our homegating events, and there’s just nothing like cracking open a cold one at kickoff! Because this is one of the biggest games of the year for our team, I decided to pick up a pack of Coca-Cola in glass bottles to celebrate. There’s just something so darn delicious about a Coca-Cola in a glass bottle that simply cannot be beat!

While at the store, I also stocked up on a few things for us to chow down on. Because it’s going to be pretty cold outside, chili was one of the first things to come to my mind. Because it’d be a crime to serve chili without some sort of bread or cracker, I let my imagination take a little ride on the wild side and I though of the perfect pairing that I knew would knock everyone’s socks off – and would be great to eat with or without a big bowl of chili!

Friends, allow me to introduce you to the new game day snack champion in our household: Cheddar Bacon Jalapeno DoughnutsThese scrumptious little savory treats bring the perfect amount of heat on game days, and they’re even better paired with an ice cold bottle of Coca-Cola! Just spray a muffin tin thoroughly with non-stick cooking spray, dice a smidge of pickled jalapenos and bacon pieces and layer them in the bottom, then mix up your favorite brand or recipe of corn muffin mix, add in a little cheese to the batter and pipe in into each doughnut tin! I popped them in the oven for about 15-17 minutes and they came out golden and perfect!

I also created a little spicy jalapeno cheddar cheese sauce to serve over top of the doughnuts to elevate them just a bit. Any extra cheese sauce that’s left over can be used as cheese dip for snacking throughout the rest of the game. Score!

These doughnuts are created using a sweet cornbread base with a savory blend of cheddar, jalapeno and bacon pieces within it. The cheese sauce is like the icing on the doughnut, and really make it a game day grub essential your family will be asking for all year round! 😉

Here’s a free printable copy of the recipe if you’d like to give it a try:

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Cheddar Bacon Jalapeno Doughnuts

Cook Time17 minutes mins

Total Time17 minutes mins

Servings: 6

Author: Southern Made Simple

Ingredients

• 1 8.5 oz box corn muffin mix + ingredients listed on the back of the box to make the mix
• 1 egg per corn muffin instructions
• 1/3 cup milk per corn muffin instructions
• 3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 heaping spoonful pickled jalapenos - diced
• 1/4 cup real bacon bits
• For Cheese Sauce:
• 2 Tbs salted butter
• 2-3 Tbs pickled jalapeno pepper juice optional, but recommended
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 3/4 cup shredded Parmesean cheese
• 1-2 Tbs diced pickled jalapeno peppers optional, but recommended

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400 F
• Spray a doughnut baking tin thoroughly with non-stick cooking spray
• Pour contents of corn muffin mix into a large bowl and prepare according to package instructions. Add in 3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese and stir
• Dice jalapenos and sprinkle them (along with the bacon bits) generously inside each doughnut well,
• Transfer corn muffin batter into a seal-able plastic bag and snip a corner off to create a piping bag
• Pipe the corn muffin mixture into each doughnut well and bake for 15-17 minutes
• Remove from oven and allow to cool for several minutes before removing from tin
• For Cheese Sauce:
• In a medium sauce pan, melt butter and add in milk and jalapeno juice
• Slowly whisk in flour to thicken sauce, making sure no lumps of flour are lingering
• Slowly add in the cheeses and diced jalapeno slices and stir until smooth. Sauce will continue to thicken as it sits.
• Drizzle over top of each doughnut and serve immediately
• Yields 6 doughnuts, This recipe can easily be doubled to feed a larger crowd!

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I can’t wait to kick back on the cough with my family this year and watch our team bring home another victory! With an ice cold Coca-Cola in one hand and one of these scrumptious Cheddar Bacon Jalapeno Doughnuts in the other hand, I’ve already won no matter what the outcome of the game is!

Do you have any special game day traditions or favorite foods or snacks that your family likes to dig into on game day? Do you keep your fridge stocked with Coca-Cola for everyone to enjoy throughout the game? If not, it’s time to get your head in the game this year and keep the smiles coming with the beverage that makes every game day truly special! Click here for more awesome game day food pairings with Coca-Cola!