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Hi! So I've been trying to make a recipe that's somewhere between a dog treat and the beechnut toddler biscuits I love that are way too expensive for what they are. This recipe can be adapted to either canine or human palate and nutrition, by just adding a bit of sugar and salt if it's for humans.
Skip this paragraph if you're not interested, but I want you all to know how versatile this recipe is and how to get comfortable branching out. For this recipe, you generally want about 50% hydration, with at least 2 tablespoons of oil. That sounds intimidating, but once you've made it once, you can really just take 40-50% hydration as "enough liquid to make it the same consistency as it was last time." There is no rising agent, no yeast, and no egg necessary for binding it together - you could make this with just flour and water if you wanted, everything else is just for flavor, texture, and nutrition. I have made them with reduced bone broth, rosemary, ginger puree, carrot puree and rendered chicken fat, and they turned out fantastic. If you'd really like to do the math, it's fairly easy to google the moisture percentage of common household ingredients, and then multiply the weight used by that percentage as a decimal. For example, frozen blueberries have a moisture content of about 90%, so 100g of blueberries would be 100 x .90, and add a little under 90g of water to the recipe.
As a disclaimer, I am not a veterinary professional. Here is an article about the use of pantry herbs and spices for dogs.
Ingredients:
- 250g whole wheat flour
- 100g whole milk yogurt (I use stonyfield probiotic yogurt, but note that the probiotics won't survive baking)
- 150g pumpkin puree
- 100g 100% peanut butter (can use regular or natural no-stir pb in a pinch, but for dogs, check to make sure it doesn't contain xylitol)
- Cinnamon to taste
- 1 medium banana, mashed (optional)
- 50g sugar
- generous pinch of salt, or about 2-3 grams
- 1 small mixing bowl or large cereal bowl
- spoon
- baking sheet
- parchment paper
- oven
- fork (optional, for mashing banana)
- kitchen scale
- preheat oven to 350 farenheit
- mash banana in separate plate if desired
- line a baking sheet with parchment paper
- add flour to the bowl first, combine with cinnamon, and then all other ingredients
- stir with a spoon, working until the ingredients start to form a dough
- Knead with your hands for about 5 minutes, at first just trying to incorporate until it's no longer sticky to the touch, then bringing it up against the side of the bowl and folding it to incorporate the rest of the flour. You're done when the flour from the bowl is incorporated, and the dough no longer has a powdery coating on the outside. If the dough is still moist enough to stick to your hands while kneading, add more whole wheat flour until it doesn't.
- On your parchment lined baking sheet, roll or mash the dough into a roughly 1/4 inch thick sheet. Cut into your desired shape with a pizza cutter, knife, or other implement. They do not need to be separated. ALTERNATIVELY, cut on a separate surface with a cookie cutter, or roll 1 inch balls and mash them onto the sheet individually. Note that they will not change shape at all during baking.
- Poke generously with a toothpick or fork
- Bake for 30-45 minutes, or until the cookies reach just under the desired dryness. 30 will yield a softer, but still firm result, and 45 will give you a very solid treat more akin to a busy bone. For humans and senior dogs I wouldn't recommend going above 35.
- Let cool, and break along the lines if they're connected. Store in an airtight container at room temp for up to 2 weeks, or in the fridge for up to a month*
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