Dog Biscuits

Ahhh, Christmas break. Time to enjoy sleeping in late, working on random projects, cleaning the house, and making dog biscuits. Dog biscuits? Yes, dog biscuits!

As many of my friends know, I have been the proud owner of a brindle/female greyhound since August. Her name is Eve, and despite her bodacious body (she's a runner you know), I like to refer to her as "ma petite grosse!" Meaning, in English, "my little fatty." It's a humorous nick-name because those of us who know her realize that despite her slamming greyhound figure, she is indeed a bit of a pig.

This year, in lieu of making regular batches of sugar cookies, breads, and candies for my family and friends, I decided to make dog biscuits. Almost everyone I know has a dog, and it seems a little crazy that such sweet animals would miss out on the holiday goodies we indulge our waistlines in. Thus, below are two recipes I baked today for my friend's and my pet: one is a meat-based biscuit made with real turkey, cheese, sage, and wheat, and the other is a sweeter biscuit made with almond butter.

Turkey Biscuits

The below recipe comes from BullWrinkle.  Unfortunately, after following the directions to a T, I realized that something was missing from the below ingredients list (water anyone?!).  Clearly, you cannot have a biscuit without water to activate the yeast.  Silly BullWrinkle.  Anyway, I've adjusted this recipe with the addition of 1/2 cup water, 2 more tablespoons oil, and sage instead of parsley.  The end result is aromatic (the kitchen smelled so good!) and a huge hit with the canine community.

Ingredients:

*2 cups cooked turkey -- cut up
*1/2 cup water
*2 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
*4 teaspoons grated cheese
*1 tablespoon sage
*2 eggs, whisked separately
*2 cups whole wheat flour
*2 tablespoons brewer's yeast
*4 tablespoons vegetable oil

1.) Combine turkey, garlic, cheese, and sage.  Mix well. Beat the eggs in a separate bowl and pour over turkey mixture.

2.) Add the flour, yeast, water and oil. Stir until thoroughly mixed and all ingredients are coated.  Mixture should look lumpy and be somewhat sticky in its dough form.

3.) Roll dough in the shape of balls (if dough is not sticky enough to form balls, then it probably needs more flour or water), and drop onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Cook in a 350F oven for about 20 minutes, or until brown and firm. These biscuits will not grow any larger in the oven from the original ball-shapes.  I have a feeling that if I experimenting with this recipe long enough and let the dough rise, we might have a fluffier biscuit.  However, this result would not be a traditional dog biscuit, but something more human-like in nature!

4.) Store in a refrigerator away from the eyes and nose of prying greyhound, and feed to pet when appropriate (i.e., "Good job! You just potty-trained correctly!").

Peanut Butter Cookie Biscuits

Since one batch of biscuits just isn't enough, I had to make the below recipe for peanut-butter biscuits for Eve.  The recipe is courtesy of The Poop Pantry, and has a few minor adjustments in the ingredients list as well.  Mostly, I changed the key ingredient, peanut butter, to what I had in my own pantry, almond butter.

Ingredients:

*1 cup water
*1 cup quick-cooking oats
*1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
*1/2 cup cornmeal

*1 egg
*1 tbsp. sugar
*1 tsp. salt
*1/2 cup milk
*1/3 cup peanut, or almond butter
*2-3 cups whole wheat flour (my recipe only needed 2, so shoot for 2 cups and if it needs more, add flour in small amounts towards 3 cups.  Be careful not to over-flour! You don't want this too be too dry!)

Glaze:
*1 large egg
*2 tbsp. milk

1.) Boil water in a saucepan. Add oats and butter. Let oats soak for ten minutes. Stir in the cornmeal, sugar, salt, milk, peanut butter, and egg. Mix thoroughly. Add the flour, one cup at a time (you may not need the entire amount) until a stiff dough forms. 

2.)Knead dough on floured surface until smooth, about 3 minutes. Roll to 1/2" thickness. Place on a greased cookie sheet.

 



3.) GLAZE: Whisk egg and add milk.  Mix well. Brush glaze on dough with a pastry brush. 

4.) Bake biscuits in a pre-heated 325F oven for 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool completely. (NOTE: Unlike the turkey biscuits recipe above, these peanut butter biscuits do not need to be refrigerated.  However, I do suggest keeping them in an air-tight container like we do most foods.).