Sick of all those boring sugar cookies and cornflake wreaths? This holiday season, South students have contributed their favorite family recipes to shake the baking game up.

According to Emilia Koper ’26, piernik, a classic Polish recipe, is softer and less sweet than traditional gingerbread. First, melt 2 cups of sugar over the stove. Stir in 1 cup of honey and season with 2 teaspoons of ginger and cinnamon each and 1 teaspoon of allspice.

Pour the mixture into a bowl along with 6 cups of flour, two eggs, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract, 1 1/2 teaspoons of baking soda and one stick of melted unsalted butter. Whisk until a batter forms.

Knead the dough until it’s firm but not sticky, roll it out on a floured surface and cut it into shapes. Paint each cookie with butter for a rich taste. Finally, bake for 10 minutes at 350 F.

Originating from Tuscany, Italy, Biscotti derives from the Latin word biscoctus, meaning twice baked. This recipe has been provided by Meghan vonShwarz ’26. To make these cookies, start by whisking together 2 cups of flour, 1 teaspoon of baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon of salt.

Separately, mix 3/4 cup of sugar and 1/4 cup of butter. Add two eggs, 4 tablespoons of anise seeds and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract. The batter should smell like licorice. Incorporate the flour mixture.

Standard biscotti is made from almonds, but some people use other add-ins such as dried fruit or chocolate chips according to their preferences. Add any supplements to the dough during this step.

Divide the dough into four even portions. Roll each log in flour to eliminate stickiness. Bake for 25 minutes at 350 F, let cool for 15 minutes and slice vertically into pieces 1 inch thick. Bake for 10 more minutes on each side.

Zirochki are jam sandwich cookies popular in Ukraine. They can be made with any flavor of jam the baker prefers, although Anna Burlaka ’26’s recipe calls for strawberry.

The first step is to mix 3 cups of flour with two sticks of unsalted butter until crumbly. In another bowl, whisk two eggs and 1 cup of sugar together until the batter is pale yellow. Fold into the flour mixture with a spatula. Add 1 teaspoon of baking soda, 2 teaspoons of white vinegar and 2 tablespoons of honey.

Wrap the dough in plastic and let it rest for 30 minutes at room temperature. After, preheat the oven to 350 F. Roll out the dough and cut it into circles. Cut out shapes in exactly half of the circles. Bake all pieces for seven minutes until golden. Spread jam on the uncut circles and sandwich with cut circles to finish.