10 Snacks That Make Watching the Winter Olympics a Delicious Spectator Sport

Old Fashioned Onion Rings

When the iconic interlocking Olympic rings flash across the screen signifying the five global continents and the athletes taking part in the Winter Games, go on and raise these golden, crispy onion rings in solidarity. This top-rated recipe is battered and fried in oil, but you can go with air-fried onion rings or oven-baked onion rings, too.

No-Bake Cheesecake Flag Cake

Show your support for Team USA with this no-bake cheesecake sporting the iconic red, white, and blue colors of the American flag. Reviewers liked that it was easy to make, very refreshing, and not too sweet. Winning move: To prevent the strawberry juice from leaking onto the cheesecake, wait to place the fruit until just before serving. You could also substitute fresh raspberries, if you prefer.

American Flag Cake

You'll get the full stars and stripes in every slice of this clever cake. Boxed white cake mix (plus food colorings) makes the mixing easy, and there's a recipe video with step-by-step directions to coach you from start to finish. It's actually easier to make than you might think, although it does take time to bake the layers and assemble the cake. But if you're going for the gold medal in the dessert competition, this is for you. Winning move: Switch up the food coloring to make the cake reflect the colors of your country of choice.

Chef John's Chinese Scallion Pancakes

This savory fried flatbread — also known as a green onion pancake — is a popular Chinese street food and a great choice for your Beijing Olympics viewing marathon. Chef John shares his recipe and says, "These fun-to-make flatbreads are a common fixture on menus in China, and while they all feature the same few ingredients, they come in a variety of thicknesses. The thinner you make these, the crispier they'll be, but you won't get that nice, layered, oniony inside. On the other hand, if you make them too thick, they can be a little doughy inside, so I try to shoot for something in between."

Chinese Pork Dumplings

This 5-star recipe can be made with three different fillings: pork, shrimp, or tofu-mushroom. Allrecipes Allstar Baking Nana says, "Hubby says these are A++ Better than the best Chinese restaurant dumpling he has ever had. A couple of tips, don't over fill or your dumplings will be hard to fold and will pop open when you cook them. Wet your fingers while folding and pinching shut — if any of them appear to be coming apart just wet your fingers and pinch them shut. These are great to make ahead and freeze. Great for last minute company or a quick and tasty dinner. Thanks for a wonderful recipe. It's a Keeper! Update: Chinese Chives are longer and thicker than regular chives. If you can't find Chinese chives just use regular chives or garlic chives."

Chinese Popcorn Snack Mix

Is popcorn is your TV snack of choice? Try this spiced up version that gives a nod to the host country for the Winter Olympics. Plain popcorn is mixed with crispy chow mein noodles and honey roasted peanuts, tossed with butter, soy sauce, lime juice, sesame oil, Sriracha, and ground ginger, and then baked to let all that flavor permeate every bite. Winning move: Make sure no unpopped kernels sneak into the mix.

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Chinese Five-Spice Air Fryer Butternut Squash Fries

Chinese five-spice powder — named for the five elements of fire, water, earth, wood, and metal — is a distinctive flavor you'll find throughout Chinese cuisine. It's usually a mix of five or more spices including star anise, cinnamon, fennel seed, cloves, and ginger or peppercorns. You can use it to flavor these butternut squash fries, or any other fries you like, or try it on other snacky foods like chicken wings or ribs. You can make up a small batch of the spice mix at home if you want to try before you buy.

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Crispy Tiger Fudge

With the Winter Games being held in China and coming fast on the heels of the Lunar New Year (it's the Year of the Tiger!), this easy, eye-catching dessert seems especially appropriate for your snack lineup. White chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, peanut butter, and crispy rice cereal form the base, with semisweet chocolate chips melted and swirled across the top to form the tiger stripes. Winning move: Reviewer veronicab suggests warming the peanut butter a bit to make it easier to work with.

Greek-Inspired Snack Board

Since the Olympic Games originated in ancient Greece, we think it's fitting to include a charcuterie board loaded up with the flavors of modern-day Greece including a tangy feta and yogurt dip, crisp vegetables, pita chips, roasted chickpeas, sliced meats, nuts, grapes, hummus, olives, and anything else that strikes your fancy.

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Gluehwein

If watching all that skiing and snowboarding gives you the sympathetic shivers, you might like to warm up with a mug of mulled wine. Else shared her father's recipe and says, "Gluehwein is a German/Austrian winter-holiday drink that most tourists know as an after-ski drink. After you come in out of the snow, it is supposed to make you glow with warmth again. Watch it: Since you drink this wine warm, the alcohol goes to your head extra quick! Drink when you really have come in, and do not have to go out again!" Need a hot beverage for the kids? You can't go wrong with classic hot chocolate or spiced apple cider.

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