Steps

• Place 1/4 cup of warm milk in a glass, add the brewer’s yeast, let it dissolve well, then add a tablespoon of flour (taken from the total) and two teaspoons of sugar. Mix well and wait a few minutes for the foam to form; this way, your yeast will be activated.

  

• Pour the starter into a well of flour on a work surface, add the milk, egg, sugar, and mix everything well.

  

• Now add a pinch of salt and knead until you get a smooth dough.

  

• Now add the butter little by little, adding it in three times, waiting each time for it to be fully absorbed.

  

• At this point, place the dough in a floured bowl, cover it with plastic wrap, then with a clean dish towel. Leave it in a sheltered place to rise for about two hours. It must at least double, the time also depends on the temperature.

  

• After the time has passed, take the leavened dough, place it on a floured work surface. Divide it into balls: 2 oz for the head, 3.5 oz for the body, and 0.4 oz for the arms and scarf. With these quantities, you will get 5 snowmen. Flatten the balls for the head and body with your hands or a rolling pin, fill them with two teaspoons of jam. Make sure to use thick jam, otherwise, it might spill out during baking.

  

• Seal them well; if the dough is a bit dry, moisten it with a little water.

  

• Roll them well, trying to close them so that there are no holes or thinner parts from where the jam might spill out.

  

• Now assemble the snowman: place the ball for the head, below it the one for the body, and then two small balls for the arms.

  

• Add the scarf and voilà, your snowman is ready.

  

• Once baked, all that’s left is to decorate them. I used sugar eyes, for the nose an orange food pencil, for the mouth I wetted a vegetable charcoal tablet with very little water, where I dipped a kitchen brush drawing many dots.

  

• Add the colored sugar buttons, a nice dusting of powdered sugar, and your snowmen are ready!