Turn Homemade Cookies Into A Homemade Board Game

Family recipes are a gift in themselves. So this holiday season, I've decided to spin a precious gift off into another gift, making it a sort of gift times two. And now that I'm sharing the recipe for this double gift so that you can make it for your own loved ones, it's a quadruple gift! Does this mean these cookies are the most superb holiday gift you can possibly give this season? Yes, probably.

This recipe began with a heirloom cookie recipe from my husband's great-uncle Jim, who received it as a gift from his own grandmother. Uncle Jim bakes these cookies every Christmas, packages them up in cute little tins, and mails them to very lucky people like myself. They're as simple as can be: mix ingredients into a dough, roll into a log, slice, and bake. If you just want to make the cookies without the whole pretense of gifting, I urge you to do so! And I recommend keeping a log of this cookie dough on hand for emergency situations when you are in desperate need of fresh baked cookies.

After Uncle Jim deemed me worthy of possessing this recipe, I decided I wanted to turn it into something the family could enjoy together in a whole new way. I adapted the recipe to make a chocolate version as well, then combined these two batches into black-and-white sandwich cookies with a dollop of chocolate ganache. You can also sandwich these cookies together using jam, peanut butter, buttercream frosting, dulce de leche, or anything else that's edible and sticks.

I then went to my local creative reuse store and purchased an old scrap of fabric for 25 cents, gave it a good wash, and used a marker to draw a grid. I left my grid open to play Othello; if that's not your kind of game, color in alternating squares to make a checkerboard.

Once your guests are bored with board games, they can eat the cookies, and you can bake a new batch whenever it's time for a rematch.

For the vanilla cookies:

• 2 sticks butter, softened
• 1¼ cups sugar
• 2/3 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 3⅔ cup flour
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 1/2 tsp. fine sea salt

For the chocolate cookies:

• 2 sticks butter, softened
• 1¼ cups sugar
• 2/3 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 3 cups flour
• 2/3 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 1/2 tsp. fine sea salt

Filling options:

• Chocolate ganache
• 2 cups of your favorite jam, nut butter, or frosting
• 2 (8-oz.) cans dulce de leche

Make the vanilla cookies: Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar together on high speed until pale yellow and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the heavy cream, vanilla, and sea salt, and mix on medium speed for about one minute. Beat in the flour and baking soda.

Divide the dough into three portions, and cut three pieces of parchment paper at least 18 inches wide. Working toward the bottom of the parchment, roll each portion of dough into a log about 1½ inches thick. (It doesn't need to be perfect.) Roll the cookie dough up in the paper, smoothing it out with your hands as you go, then twist the ends of the paper loosely. Roll back and forth on a hard surface to help smooth the dough log, then twist the ends of the parchment tightly. Repeat with the other two portions, and refrigerate for at least two hours (preferably overnight).

Make the chocolate cookie dough: Follow the same instructions to make the vanilla cookie dough, adding the cocoa powder in with the flour.

Bake the cookies: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Slice the cold cookies into ½-inch-thick coins; arrange on ungreased sheet pan, spaced at least 1 inch apart. Bake for 7-10 minutes until set; move to a wire rack to cool completely. Once cool, sandwich cookies together (1 vanilla cookie and 1 chocolate cookie) with a dollop of filling in between.

Play with the cookies: Place the cookies on an 8-by-8-square grid and play Othello, Checkers, or whatever other two-player game strikes your fancy.