Whether we’re rooting for the Razorbacks, the Red Wolves, the Reddies or our favorite high school and NFL teams, Arkansans can all agree on one thing: Football food is the best food.
That’s why Arkansas Living hosted our Dip into Fall recipe contest, asking readers to submit go-to game day favorites in time for tailgate season. And y’all delivered with bacon, Buffalo chicken, Butterfingers (that last one served with Biscoff cookies — drool! — was my personal fav!) and everything in between.
We received more than 130 entries, ranging from spicy to sweet, hot to chilled and classic to completely out there. (Rotel and lime Jell-O and Miracle Whip … huh?)
As a staff, we narrowed entries down to 11 finalist dips, donned our Arkansas Living aprons and got cooking. We asked co-workers to chip in for an official tasting. We loaded the conference room with slow cookers, labeled placemats, tasting cups and warming mats (you can win one of these in our next recipe contest). There was a QR code and digital scorecard that ranked each dip from “Dip-aster!” to “Holy Guacamole!” It was cream-cheese-fueled chaos, a glorious mess of gooey greatness.
And the winner? Not what we expected. Among all the cheesy, meaty, smoky contenders, the top prize went to a sweet dip in a surprise play that paid off. Linda Fowler’s MVP Lemon Cheesecake Dip was voted Scoop-er Bowl Champ. She’ll be heading to the end zone with our grand prize, a Ninja Foodi PossibleCooker PRO Multicooker, in tow.
We hope you’ll feel inspired to whip up a few dips this season, or even host your own mini dip challenge. Pick a few recipes, and let the snacking — and smack talk — begin.
Dippin’ out for now,
Jennifer Christman Cia