Healthy Holiday Treats for Your Favorite Furry Friends
We don't even own a dog. However, our boyfriend's parents own a dog. And yes, we'll admit, brownie points are always nice, but in general, homemade dog biscuits are a great gift for your friends or family who love their pets, and they're REALLY inexpensive to make.
We'll also admit that this recipe comes with a bit of a warning--you'll probably want to have a Kitchen Aid or a good mixer available, because the dough can be very tough to work with. You'll also need a good and heavy rolling pin; we actually borrowed a marble rolling pin just to make this recipe. But no matter what you use, we promise you'll give your arms a nice workout while rolling out these biscuits.
When we made these last weekend, we had a good glass of red wine handy and our best friend who was willing to do half the rolling--both of which made this dog-biscuit-making experience very enjoyable. However, even with these warnings, we were nicely surprised at how easy it was to make these treats, so we encourage you not to worry as much as we did.
This recipe was our mother's, and it's something we've always associated with the holiday season. Every year, our mom would make batch after batch of these dog biscuits to give to the neighbors, along with homemade candy for their kids. And really, there is no smell comparable to the two being baked at the same time for better or worse....
This year we wanted to make an effort to not spend as much money on Christmas presents, resulting in plant clippings that are currently almost ready to give away in nice pots, foods that can be sent with little to no hassle, and these biscuits for those with dogs that we know will love them. Regardless of the holidays though, this recipe is perfect year-round and we're sure your dogs won't complain.
After making these biscuits we must admit we only had one or two nightmares about the dog we're making them for not eating them. One involved the dog (Stella) taking a bite and keeling over on the spot, the other, she simply hated them. Since we haven't sent them out in the mail yet, we can only hope that these insecure fears are completely false (fingers crossed). Plus, we asked our mom, and she said that in the decades of making these biscuits she only had one dog back in the '80s that didn't like them. A poodle, named Mitzie, who was owned by a neighborhood chef that made all of her meals from scratch. Considering these odds, we feel pretty confident in these treats--they may not have bacon in them or taste like a juicy steak, but they're healthy and they've been time-tested!
Dog Biscuits Deluxe
Originally Adapted from Dr. Pitcairn's Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs and Cats
Makes about 10-15 dog biscuits, depending on their size
Ingredients:
- 2 cups of whole wheat
- 1/4 cup of cornmeal
- 1/2 cup of soy flour
- 1 teaspoon of bone meal (if you cannot find it, the recipe works fine without)
- 1 teaspoon of sea salt
- 1/4 cup of sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds (shelled)
- 2 tablespoons of oil, melted butter, or fat of your choice
- 1/4 cup of unsulfured molasses
- 2 eggs mixed with 1/4 cup of milk
*Many of these ingredients can be found in the bulk section.
Note: We were warned not to double this recipe as it will not taste as good--they must be made match by batch.
Preparation:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Mix all of the dry ingredients and seeds together in your mixer. Add the oil, molasses, and all but one tablespoon of the egg/milk mixture. Add more milk if needed to make the dough firm. Mix well in the mixer until the dough is clumped and very firm. Knead the dough well for a few minutes and then let it rest for a half hour or more. After the dough has rested, roll it out to a 1/2 inch in thickness. Cut the dough into your desired shapes and brush with the remaining egg/milk mixture. Bake on greased cookie sheets at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, or until lightly toasted. To make the biscuits harder, turn the oven off after baking, leaving the biscuits in the slowly cooling oven for an hour. Let the biscuits cool, and serve.
