Doggie Cookies: Carrot & Garlic (Beta Test)

After I created the first recipe for doggie cookies (the peanut butter and banana kind), I researched dog safe foods and created several more recipes. I never got around to testing any of them. I did run through the entire process in my mind for each recipe, which I suppose I can call the alpha testing phase. Yesterday I did a beta test for one of the recipes and... I found out that things don't go so well if you fail to follow directions. Yes, I failed to follow the directions that I created. At some point in the future, this post will be rewritten to include more/better photos and the recipe will possibly be modified (or just updated to include a method to use baby food).

The recipe that I created works fine. It made cookies that my dogs love. Unfortunately, I added far too much water at one point which caused me to add lots and lots of flour and oatmeal. The result was more of a doggie cracker than a doggie cookie. So, if you ever want to make doggie crackers instead of doggie cookies, just do what I did: double the amount of water needed then mix in a flour and oatmeal mixture until you get a dough instead of a sticky blob.

This recipe is for a carrot and garlic flavored dog cookie. Raw carrots are a healthy snack for dogs; vets even recommend them. Lucky doesn't know what to do with a raw carrot if you give him one. He will bite it in half and then leave it in the middle of the floor. Fortunately, he loves these cookies so he can still get some of the health benefits of carrots! For some extra flavor I added garlic which, in moderation, is also good for dogs.

Carrot & Garlic Doggie Cookies
1 C baby carrots
1/2 C Oatmeal
1C flour
1 clove garlic (minced) or 1/4 t garlic powder
2 C Water

Place the water in a small sauce pan and bring to a boil. While the water is heating up, shred approximately 5 baby carrots to make 1/4 cup of carrot shavings. Set the carrot shavings aside. Place remaining carrots into boiling water and boil for 20 minutes or until soft.

Once the carrots are fully cooked, pour the water into a glass measuring cup and place the carrots in a food processor. Mash the carrots. If you don't have a food processor, this can be done with a fork. Add the garlic to the mashed carrots and mix well.

(At this point I gave up on taking pictures! As you can see, my carrots didn't even mash very well.)

Mix the oatmeal and flour into the mashed carrots. This will create a crumbly mixture. Mix in the carrot shavings until combined. Add the warm carrot water by the tablespoon, mixing well between each addition. If you do this mixing by hand, you will be less likely to add too much water. Add water to the mixture until it reaches a dough-like consistency.

On a well floured surface, roll out the dough to 1/4 inch thickness. Use cookie cutter to cut out shapes. Repeat until all the dough is used.

Bake at 350 for 15 to 20 minutes. Let the cookies cool completely before serving to any doggies.


Notes: You can also steam the carrots (this will allow them to retain more nutrients). Alternatively, you can use baby food instead of going through the mashing process. Just be sure to include the carrot shavings.