Last week I arrived at our babysitter’s house to pick up Andrew and she informed me that it was their dog Jim’s birthday. Well, I made cupcakes for two of her daughters for their birthdays earlier this year, so it seemed fitting that I make some treats for Jim as well. He is a super sweet dog – more catlike in a lot of ways, which makes me like him even more :) Their youngest daughter (who, incidentally, will be receiving some very special birthday treats of her own today) has a peanut allergy so most of the dog treat recipes I have seen were not going to work. A quick search led me to these dog treats on Nikki’s blog, and they seemed just right. I already had almost all of the ingredients on hand, so that was an added bonus. Normally I insist on trying essentially every recipe posted on my blog, but this is an exception. I’m sure these are entirely edible but I did not even consider it. Yuck. But, both Jim and his canine brother Newman loved these treats! They gobble them up, and I get a little extra attention from Jim whenever I come over now – win, win situation!
The birthday boy, Jim, standing at attention
Yummy!
Newman enjoyed them too!
Dog Treats
Ingredients:
1 cup rolled oats
5 1/3 tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into 5 pieces
1 cup boiling water
3/4 cup cornmeal
2 tsp. sugar
2 tsp. beef bouillon granules
1/2 cup milk
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1 egg, beaten
3 cups whole wheat flour
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. In a large bowl, combine the rolled oats, butter, and boiling water. Let stand for 10 minutes. Grease cookie sheets.
Add the cornmeal, sugar, beef bouillon, milk, Cheddar cheese, and egg to the bowl. Mix well. Stir in the whole wheat flour, 1 cup at a time, until a stiff dough has formed. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead, adding additional flour if necessary until the dough is smooth and no longer sticky.
Divide the dough in half. Working with one half at a time, roll the dough out with a rolling pin to 1/2-inch thickness. Cut with a cookie cutter and space evenly on prepared baking sheets. Reroll remaining dough scraps and continue cutting until all dough has been used.
Bake 35-45 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden brown. Let cool completely.
Source: adapted from Pennies on a Platter
