During the summer we had more than plenty of time for leisurely visits and outings with my in-laws, but since my return to work and the beginning of the school year, of course, our free time for family is much more limited.

We go sometimes whole weeks without seeing each other for more than a couple minutes to drop off mail or eggs, have a quick hug, and then we’re off on our busy, separate lives.

My mother-in-law suggested (insisted) that we start hosting a regular game night on Saturdays to set aside time for us to spend together over cards or board games. We hosted our first of these this past weekend, and the chosen game was poker.

As he dealt the cards, my husband reminisced about his maternal grandfather and his stern nature when it came to cards. For him, it seems, poker was a serious matter. The house rules were to be strictly followed, and no improvisation would be permitted. My mother-in-law shared memories of being very small, standing nose to the table, to watch the grown-ups play. Game nights and cards were a regular part of childhood for both mother and son, and as he fiddled with chips and giggled as he “unintentionally” flashed his father’s hand to the group, my son was making his first childhood game night memories.

We have agreed that game nights should also include a dessert to have with our tea and kombucha, and this week I wanted to do the baking. We had spent that whole morning and afternoon at Skyline, so my dessert needed to be easy and done quickly.

While I made our dal and rice for dinner, I whipped up some chai latte cookies for my first offering. These cookies are fragrant and complex, perfect for autumn evenings at the table. I think the cookies are sweet enough without it, but I included a recipe for a quick glaze if you want a little extra sweetness.

Chai latte cookies

Ingredients:

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature

½ cup vegetable oil or melted coconut oil

½ cup sugar

½ cup powdered sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons ground ginger

1 ½ teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon allspice

½ teaspoon cardamom

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon ground clove

For the glaze (Optional)

1 cup powdered sugar

1 tablespoon milk

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

Drizzle in the oil and whisk to combine. The oil might not completely incorporate, and that’s fine.

Add in the powdered sugar and beat until smooth.

Add in all the dried spices and whisk to combine.

Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt.

Add the egg and vanilla extract to the spiced butter and sugar mixture, beat until smooth.

Add in the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly. The dough will be very soft, almost like cake batter. Put it in the freezer while your oven preheats to firm it up and make it easier to work with.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Use a pair of spoons or a cookie scoop to portion out balls of dough about the size of an egg.

Bake for 12-14 minutes, rotating halfway, if necessary, until the edges are just starting to brown.

Cool completely on a wire rack.

While the cookies are cooling, you can make the optional glaze by whisking the milk and vanilla into the powdered sugar, making sure there are no lumps. You might need to pass the glaze through a fine meshed strainer to be sure.

Carefully drizzle the glaze over the cookies and let sit at room temperature for 20 minutes, until the glaze is dry.

Store in an airtight container for up to a week.