You all know I am a Georgia fan. But since we’ve been living at the Naval Academy, I’ve also become a Navy fan. It’s kind of hard not to, with the midshipmen “marching” (walking) to every home game, the plebes doing push-ups every time the football team scores and that ship-like horn that blows for touchdowns. Plus, they have a cheer for when they are close to a touch down that goes (and yes, this is the whole cheer): Stick it in, stick it in, stick it in!

And the best part? They tailgate AFTER the game, not just before. They do call tailgate parties “tailgaters,” though, which is weird.

Anyway. This week is Air Force week, which means the mids engage in all types of tomfoolery and shenanigans leading up to the Navy-Air Force football game today. For example, the handful of Air Force cadets on exchange to the Naval Academy painted a highly sensitive part of Bill the Goat’s anatomy blue. (Below photo taken before said humiliation occurred)

Toby has to work, so I’m not going to the game. But I still wanted to bake some cookies for the mids. I thought about using my cookie stamp to make sugar cookies that said, “Fear the goat” and “Crush Air Force.” Then I was clicking around Sprinkle Bakes and saw these amazing spiral cookies. So I decided on a cookie ode to “The Navy Blue and Gold.”

I’m sorry I don’t have any photos of the cookie dough-making process. Toby had the camera at work with him when I was making it. But I just used my normal sugar cookie recipe. It’s pretty straightforward.

The trick is layering, rolling and cutting the cookies after the dough is already made. And I do have photos of that.

I don’t mean to imply that these cookies are difficult to make. In fact, they’re surprisingly easy. And you can do them in any colors you wish — leave one half of the batter plain and color the other, or do your favorite team’s colors.

You can also use any kind of sprinkles you want. I thought I had blue and gold jimmies, but I couldn’t find them. So I used these red, white and blue stars instead, and they worked really well.

Tell me that’s not adorable. And the swirl doubles as a goat horn!

I used a tomato knife to slice the cookies, but any sharp knife will do. Make sure you clear off any lingering crumbs, though, or you may mess up the swirls on subsequent slices.

Go Navy! Beat Air Force!

Swirl cookies (Idea and method from Sprinkle Bakes, recipe adapted from Wilton. Makes about 40 cookies)
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 egg, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
food coloring (gel preferred)
sprinkles

Beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla and mix well.

In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking powder and salt. Add flour mixture to butter mixture about 1 cup at a time, mixing after each addition.
When dough is just combined, separate it into two equal parts. Use food coloring to dye each half of the dough desired color.

Roll one color of dough out to about 1/8 inch thickness on a piece of parchment paper or silicone baking sheet — don’t flour the surface. Shoot for a rectangle about the size of a piece of notebook paper, or slightly longer and narrower. (I did this by forming the dough ball into a rectangle shape before rolling it, then nudging the dough into shape with my fingers as I rolled it out.)

Slide the parchment paper, with the dough rectangle, onto a cookie sheet. Repeat with other color of dough, making the second rectangle the same size as the first.

Refrigerate the dough for about 30 minutes, or until it is firm enough to handle but not hard. If it does become too stiff, let it sit at room temperature for a few minutes, until it warms to desired temperature.

Place one rectangle of dough, still on parchment paper, on a hard work surface. Place the other rectangle on top, lining it up to the bottom color as closely as possible. You can use the parchment paper to lift and flip the second rectangle. Use your hands and fingers to press the two rectangles together. Trim off uneven edges, if you’d like.

Slowly roll the dough into a long tube shape (like a jellyroll), starting with one of the long sides and keeping the roll tight. Make sure to press together any cracks or tears as they happen. Pour sprinkles on a plate or one of the pieces of parchment paper and roll the dough log over it to completely coat the outside edge with sprinkles.

Wrap the dough log in plastic and put it in the refrigerator for 15 to 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees while the dough is chilling.

Take dough out of the fridge when it’s firm enough to handle, and use a very sharp knife to slice cookies.

Place the cookies on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 6 to 7 minutes, until the cookies are firm and some of the edges are just starting to brown. Cool completely before storing.