pb dog cookies

I found this recipe on the internet for a peanut butter dog cookie and decided to give it a try.  Turns out our dogs love them.  I made them right before Christmas and we had lots of taste testers give them a thumbs up.  I sent some home with Honey and Indiana when they went home and then made some more so that I could send some home with Reese and Greta when they went home.  I also bagged up a few to send home with my daughter Caitlin to take to work.  She doesn't have any dogs that live with her but she has dogs that visit regularly at her work.  It is an architecture firm.  How cool is it that they have dogs that come to work. 

This time I made a triple batch and took a couple of pictures of the process.  Although the ingredients are the same I did alter the process a bit.  I used a mixer instead of a spoon to mix and I did not use a floured surface to roll out the dough but rolled it out on a sheet of parchment paper. 

Peanut butter dog cookies

(single recipe)

3/4 cup milk

1 egg

1 cup creamy peanut butter

2 1/4 cup flour

1 Tbsp baking powder

Preheat oven to 325°.  In the bowl of a stand mixer combine the milk, egg and peanut butter and mix until well combined.  Combine the baking powder and flour and add in several additions.  It should make a stiff dough. Gather up a portion of dough, knead it into a ball and then roll it out so it is 1/4 inch thick   I used a round cookie cutter but any shape could be used or it could be cut into pieces with a pizza cutter.  Place the cut cookies onto a parchment lined baking sheet and place in the oven.  Bake for 20 minutes, turn the cookies over and bake an additional 15 minutes.  Repeat the process with remaining dough in batches.  The original recipe suggested that they could be baked longer for a harder cookie or rolled a little thicker for a softer cookie but my 3 dogs and 4 visiting dogs seemed to like them just fine. 

Note:  Because I had tripled the recipe and had many cookies to bake I tried placing three pans in the oven at the same time.  I have a convection feature on my oven and three racks and I should be able to cook three racks at once but I found that the center pan did not bake as quickly as the others and were significantly softer when it was time to turn them over.  I rearranged the baking sheets so that the center one was placed on the bottom rack when they went back in and still ended up leaving the one pan in the oven a few extra minutes.  When I baked the next batch of pans I only used two sheets at a time.

I used a round cutter 1 1/2 inches in diameter

place close together as they don't spread

ready to turn over and bake longer

Adapted from this recipe.

Harley's favorite dog biscuits

Harley was a black lab who belonged to Jay and Patty and Patty used to bake these dog biscuits for him.  This was the first recipe that I had for dog treats and my dogs, Sadie and Codie love them as well.  The have bullion in them which allows for either a beef flavored treat or a chicken flavored treat.  They also have optional grated cheese in them which further enlarges the range of flavors.  I have made both the beef and the chicken and made both flavors with and without the cheese and my dogs like them all.  They are a rolled out treat, cut with a cookie cutter.  I have a fairly large dog bone shaped cutter which I use but I have also used a smaller heart or round cutter.  I have also used a pizza cutter to cut them into small squares for training nuggets.

Harley's favorite dog biscuits

Combine and let stand for 10 minutes:

1 cup oatmeal

1/3 cup butter

1 cup boiling water

Then add:

3/4 cup corn meal or tapioca flour

2 tsp sugar

2 tsp bullion granules

1/2 cup milk

1 cup shredded cheese

1 egg, beaten

3 cups whole wheat flour

Roll out fairly thickly and cut into shapes.  Bake at 325° for 35-45 minutes.

Honey's soft pumpkin dog treats

Honey belongs to Nikole and Brad.  She is a beautiful yellow lab.  I am making her treats for her Christmas stocking but she has a sensitive stomach so I got the recipe for her favorite treats from Nikole.  These treats feature pumpkin which is well digested by dogs.  Using a familiar recipe I know that they will be tolerated and enjoyed.

These treats include two ingredients that grew on our farm, apples and pumpkin.  I made the pumpkin puree using this recipe.  And I used this recipe to make the homemade applesauce.

Homemade applesauce

(makes 1/2 cup--enough for a double batch)

2 apples, peeled, cored and cut into chunks

3/8 cup water

1/8 cup sugar

1/4 tsp cinnamon

Combine the apples, water, sugar and cinnamon in a saucepan.  Cook covered over medium heat for 20 minutes until soft.  Cool and puree in food processor retaining some texture.

Honey's soft pumpkin dog treats

 1 cup pumpkin puree

1/4 cup applesauce

1/8 cup honey

1 egg

1 cup whole wheat flour

Combine the pumpkin puree, applesauce, honey and egg in the bowl of a food processor or mixer and process or mix until combined.  Add one-half of the flour and mix.  Add the remaining flour and mix again until well combined.  Using a 1 inch cookie scoop or two spoons drop onto parchment lined baking sheet.  These did not spread so you can place them close together.  Bake at 350° for 20 minutes.  Cool and store in the refrigerator for up to one week or in the freezer.  Nikole feeds Honey these treats straight from the freezer.

ready for the oven

My double batch made 84 one inch balls.  The dogs at my house did a taste test.  Sadie gobbled hers up right away, Codie set hers down, sniffed it and looked at it for a moment and then ate hers as well.

I am joining Susan at Between Naps On The Porch for Metamorphosis Monday.


Source (adapted) for applesauce:
Sources for treats using the pumpkin version.