Merry Christmas and Have a safe and Happy New Year!

From all the staff at 'The Brown Dog', @ VDL Stanley and @ The Base Stanley

"John Farnham" Christmas Peonie Roses!

Very last for the year and we promise this time.
8 bunches available and only until christmas eve.

FLAMELESS CANDLES - INSTORE NOW

Why Flameless Candles?

Safety – Traditional wicked candles cause over 15,000 house fires each year. With flameless candles, there is no fire risk if a candle is knocked over or placed too close to a curtains or furniture. Flameless candles are 100% safe around children and pets.

Décor – Use flameless candles in areas where wicked candles can’t go – in a floral arrangement or centerpiece, near curtains or drapes, on shelving or book shelves, in children’s bedrooms, and more.

Enjoy Lighting flameless candles provide the look of traditional candles with real wax, realistic flickering effect, and light fragrances.

Convenience – Candles won’t blow out when used outdoors. They have an built-in timer allowing the candle to turn on and off when you want it to, every day, at the same time. Set it once and your candle will automatically turn on and provide ambiance every day – without any effort on your part.

Set it and forget it!

Flakey Cinnamon Buns - Falling Cloudberries (A World 0f Family Recipes

Here is a recipe for delicious flaky cinnamon buns from Tessa Kiros, author of Apples for Jam and her wonderful new book Falling Cloudberries. "These gorgeous buns were always a part of my childhood. They are found everywhere in Finland—and probably all over Scandinavia—in tearooms and houses. Everyone makes their own and they freeze beautifully so you can just pull out a few when a craving sets in.

Prep Time: 40 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 60 minutes

Ingredients:

• * * * * Bun Dough * * * *
• 1 cup lukewarm milk
• ½ cup superfine sugar
• 1 (1 ounce) cake fresh yeast
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1/4 pound plus 1 tablespoon butter, softened
• 2 teaspoons ground cardamom
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 5 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
• * * * * Cinnamon Butter * * * *
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• ¼ cup superfine sugar, plus 1 tablespoon for sprinkling
• 5 ½ tablespoons butter, softened
• 1 egg, lightly beaten

Preparation:

Makes about 35 buns. Put the milk and sugar in a bowl and crumble in the yeast. Let stand for 10 minutes, or until the yeast begins to activate. Add the egg, butter, cardamom, and salt, and mix in. Add the flour, bit by bit, mixing it in with a wooden spoon until you need to use your hands, and then turn it out onto the work surface to knead. It may seem a little too sticky initially, but will become compact and beautifully soft after about 5 minutes. Put the dough back in the bowl, cover with a clean cloth and then a heavy towel or blanket, and leave in a warm place for about 2 hours, or until it has doubled in size.

To make the cinnamon butter, mix together the cinnamon and sugar. Divide the butter into four portions and set aside.

Put the dough on a floured work surface and divide it into four portions. Begin with one portion, covering the others with a cloth so they don’t dry out. Using a rolling pin, roll out a rectangle, roughly about 12 by 10 inches and 1/8 inch thick. Spread one portion of butter over the surface of the dough with a spatula or blunt knife. Sprinkle with about 3 teaspoons of the cinnamon mixture, covering the whole surface with quick shaking movements of your wrists. Roll up to make a long dough sausage. Set aside while you finish rolling out and buttering the rest of the dough, so that you can cut them all together.

Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper, or bake in two batches if you only have one sheet. Line up the dough sausages in front of you and cut them slightly on the diagonal, alternating up and down, so that the slices are fat V shapes, with the point of the V about 3/4 inch and the base about 2 inches. Turn them so they are all the right way up, sitting on their fatter bases. Press down on the top of each one with two fingers, until you think you will almost go through to your work surface. Along the sides you will see the cinnamon stripes oozing outward. Put the buns on the baking sheet, leaving space for them to puff and rise while they bake. Brush lightly with beaten egg and sprinkle a little sugar over the top. Let the buns rise for half an hour and preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Bake them for about 20 minutes, or until they are golden. Check that they are lightly golden underneath as well before you take them out of the oven. Serve hot, warm, or at room temperature and, when they are cool, keep them in an airtight container so they don’t harden.

THE BROWN DOG CAN NOW BLOG

Hi Everyone just thought we would put together a Blog Page so that you can see some of the great things that are coming into the store and also a great place to share info.

Regards
The Brown Dog

For all you budding Cooks and Book Worms

We have just received our order of a fabulous range of cook books. They make the perfect present of a gift for yourself.

New Arrivals

These have just arrived in store this week. They come with a stainless steel hanging wire so all you need to do is find somewhere to put them up.