Thursday, December 10, 2009

Homemade Dog Treats--Wheat Free

By Kathryn Washburn Breighner

Ok, this is not a normal Three Siblings post. But what the heck, all three of us have dogs. So I'm blogging with my recipe for home baked dog treats.

Because Bazil, our recently deceased labradoodle, had a wheat allergy, I started making his treats. Dash, labradoodle puppy, doesn't have the wheat problem so I hadn't made any treats for him. In a clean-out-the cabinet mode, I found some ingredients, rice flour and quick oatmeal (not the stuff in the packets!), that I only used for dog treats and decided to make a batch to get rid of them. Dashel stood at the counter as I made them just as Baz did and this was his first baking experience.

I used rice flour because of Bazil's allergies; if that isn't an issue, substitute wheat flour. I use a stand mixer for these because the batter is very thick and heavy.

In the mixer, combine:

3 c rice flour
3 c quick oatmeal--I've tried regular, and the oatmeal flakes don't break down enough when baking
3/4 c peanut butter
1/4 c molasses
3 eggs
1 t cinnamon
1/2-3/4 c apple juice

Mix until well blended and the batter is thick. Because there is no baking soda or powder in these treats, they will not rise so you want a thick batter, so thick you can't drop it from a spoon.

Roll the batter out onto a rice floured cutting board and roll to 1/2" thickness. Cut into whatever shapes or sizes you want. Bake at 350 degrees F for 13-15 minutes until the edges just begin to brown. Cool and store in an airtight container. The ingredients are simple but provide whole grains, protein, and vitamins from the molasses. These finished treats are dark and crisp. Look at this ingredient list and the then the ingredients from most store bought treats--no comparison, this one has no chemicals.

I must have done something right: Dash just stands by the pantry door where these treats are kept and looks at us with sad eyes. He loves them!  Woof!

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