January 28, 2015 – Let’s have a little fun! It’s winter and it’s time for home made dog biscuits! When we had our own dogs, one of the fun baking things I used to do was make a batch of dog cookies for Christmas. (We’d share with our friends’ and family’s dogs.) I’d always find a way to roll a small bit of left-over pastry dough around a bit of meat or even alone. Sometimes I’d shred a sliver of cheddar on them (just a wee bit for flavor!) It seems more and more people are going to raw diets or home-made food for their dogs and cats so here’s a first installment to add to your recipe cards.

[Before you spend a lot of time baking up a storm for your favorite pooches…check with their families to ensure the dogs don’t have allergies or sensitivities to any of these ingredients.]

NOTE: If you’d like to replace the egg to remove all animal proteins, you can use this flax substitute (this replacement is good for us too!)

According to “Bob’s Red Mill” To replace one egg, mix 1 tablespoon of flax seed meal (not whole flax seeds) with 3 tablespoons of water. Let sit for five minutes. It should have a gelatinous texture before using. I’ve seen other preparations that call for boiling water and they suggest leaving for two hours! I’m sure there’s a happy between state here.

Flour-Free Almond Dog Biscuits

This recipe was handed down to me by the foster mom of one of our Golden Retriever rescues. I haven’t given it a try because I’d be too tempted to eat it myself!

  • 1 cup course ground almonds
  • 2 tbsp. almond butter
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2-cup chopped parsley
  • 1/4-cup grated carrot/zucchini/or sweet potato

Pre-heat oven to 350 F. Mix everything together and press onto a non-stick cookie sheet. BakeĀ  for 40 – 45 minutes. Slice into biscuits while warm but leave in the pan. Return the pan to the over, turned off, to dry-out the cookies.

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Pumpkin or Sweet Potato Dog Biscuits

  • 1 cup of cooked pumpkin or sweet potato (canned if you wish)
  • 1 egg
  • 1 & 2/3-cups of gluten-free flour such as oat – or whole wheat – or brown rice flour

Pre-heat oven to 350 F. Beat egg and mash cooked pumpkin or sweet potato. Mix everything until it sticks together well. Roll dough into small balls – approx. 2 dozen. Place on a non-stick cookie sheet or parchment paper, and flatten with a floured fork until approx. 1/4 inch thick. Bake until golden and cool in a wire rack.

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Peanut Butter and Banana Dog Biscuits

  • 1 medium banana
  • 3 tbsp. peanut butter
  • 1 egg
  • 1 cup of gluten-free flour such as oat – or whole wheat – or brown rice flour
  • 2/3-cup of rolled oats

Pre-heat oven to 300 F. Beat egg. Peel and mash the banana in a large bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients and set aside for five minutes. Roll one tablespoon of dough into balls. Place on a non-stick cookie sheet or parchment paper, and flatten with a floured fork until approx. 1/4 inch thick. Bake until golden and cool in a wire rack.

Storage – All cookies should be stored in the fridge or frozen if being kept longer than a few days for your pup friends!

It’s day 28 in our 365-day series and today we had four lunch visits. One cancellation. Our multi-dog family is back but staying at their own home this week as we have two older rescues with us today through the weekend.

Until next time… have fun out there!

PS – I’m ashamed to say, the picture perfect dog cookies in the photo are not mine. The dogs all seem to like mine…but their shapes wouldn’t win any prizes!