This project started out as a half-baked idea to see what would happen if you stuffed cheese inside another cheese inside another cheese inside another cheese, ad infinitum. But after testing it and seeing people’s reactions, we realized this epic cheese ball idea might actually be a legit holiday party recipe. To make the massive 12-layer cheese ball, you’ll start with a small core of washed or bloomy-rind cheese, then layer around it mixtures of grated and crumbled cheeses whipped with cream cheese, coating each layer with a complementary crust of nuts, fruit, cured meats, or herbs. Make sure you’ve invited plenty of guests over to eat it: This appetizer weighs in at about five pounds.

What to buy: Spanish chorizo (not to be confused with its Mexican counterpart) is a dried, smoked, ready-to-eat pork sausage. It can be mild or spicy, and is found at gourmet markets or online. If you can’t find Spanish chorizo, you can sub in some andouille sausage.

Game plan: To serve the Turducken of Cheese Balls, we recommend cutting and removing a wedge so your guests can see all of the layers; then simply lay out some crackers and a bunch of knives so people can attack the cheese ball as they please.

For a behind-the scenes look at how we built the Turducken of Cheese Balls—including a nifty cross-section animation—check out this post.