Name: Petits Bonhommes
Yield: Makes about 10 individual petits bonhommes
Ingredients: 1 recipe Brioche Bretzel dough, through first rise; 2 egg yolks; Raisins, nuts, dragées, or other such decorations; 1/2 cup (2 ounces) powdered sugar (optional)

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Petits BonhommesEric Wolfinger

One of the many treats my brother and I looked forward to during the Christmas holidays was having a freshly baked petit bonhomme for breakfast or for an afternoon snack. The breads seemed to have a best friend, too: hot chocolate. Still today shop windows display the petits bonhommes in sizes ranging from seven or eight inches to several feet high. Some families buy a large bread to put in the middle of the holiday breakfast table. My father made his petits bonhommes from brioche but tells me they can also be made from the kugelhopf dough.

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