Doggie Cookies: A First Attempt

This is Lucky, he is a cocker spaniel. He will eat almost anything. He hates it when I bake because I don't share the food with him. He doesn't digest a lot of dog treats very well, especially treats that contain food coloring.

This is Bichon, he is a bichon frise (I didn't name him). He is a very, very picky eater when it comes to dog food and treats.

I've wanted to make dog treats for months. Homemade treats are probably healthier for dogs than the treats you buy at the store, which are made with filler ingredients and food coloring. I've looked for a decent dog treat recipe online, but I didn't like most of them. The various recipes I found did give me a general idea of where to start to make my own recipe. I tested out one of the recipes I created today.

Lucky loves peanut butter flavored anything, so I started with peanut butter. Oatmeal is good for dogs, as long is it is the kind that comes in the cardboard cylinder and isn't sweetened with sugars. During my research I found out that dogs can eat almost any fruit (except grapes!), and I had some bananas going bad, so I added some banana. Flour and water hold almost anything together, so I included as well.

This is the recipe I came up with:

Peanut Butter & Banana Doggie Cookies

1/4 cup peanut butter

1/2 cup uncooked oatmeal, the slow cooking kind

1/2 banana (mashed)

1 cup flour

1/2 cup water (approximately)

Combine the peanut butter, oatmeal, and banana in a bowl until well mixed and crumbly. I mixed it by hand, but you can use a mixer. Add flour and mix well. Slowly add the water until the mixture is smooth and kind of dough-like. Adding too much water will cause it to be sticky. If you add too much water, that is easily fixed: add flour by the spoonful until the dough isn't sticky.

On a well floured surface, roll out the dough to desired thickness (I did 1/4 of an inch). Cut out shapes with cookie cutters, making sure to press down hard to get through any oats. Peeling away extra dough from the cut outs will make them easier to pick up and transfer to a cookie sheet. Repeat until all dough is used.

Bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees. Cool completely on wire cookie rack before feeding to your dog. Makes 2 dozen cookies.

Lucky happily ate the cookies and wanted more!

The ultimate test was giving one to Bichon. He enjoyed it, but I had to break the cookie into small pieces.

The baking time can be increased for crunchier cookies or decreased for softer cookies. The recipe should be fine to double or triple. Whole wheat flour may be used instead of white flour.

Approximate nutrition facts per cookie: 38 calories,1.5g fat, .5g fiber, 1.5g protein.