Sandy Snacks

 

Whole Wheat and Peanut Butter Dog Biscuits

A recipe from The Barefoot Contessa (Ina Garten)

 

1 1/2 cups stone-ground whole-wheat flour

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup powdered or dry milk

1/2 cup quick-cooking oatmeal (not instant), plus extra for sprinkling

1/2 cup smooth peanut butter

2 tablespoons toasted wheat germ (I left this out)

1 extra-large egg, lightly beaten

1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water, for egg wash

Directions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the two flours, the powdered milk, oatmeal, peanut butter and wheat germ. With the mixer on low speed, add the extra-large egg and 1 cup of water and mix just until it forms a slightly sticky ball.
Dump the dough out on a well-floured board (I use all-purpose flour) and knead it into a ball. Roll the dough out 1/2-inch thick. Dip a cookie cutter in flour and cut out dog bone shapes. Collect the scraps, knead lightly, roll out again and cut more dog biscuits.
Place the biscuits on the prepared sheet pan and brush with the egg wash. Sprinkle with oatmeal and bake for 1 hour, until completely hard. Cool and toss.

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If you know me, you knew it was just a matter of time before I started to bake for my dogs!

I made these pretty much as described in the directions above with just a few exceptions.  I noticed my biscuits were browning on the bottom really quickly.  After the biscuits had baked for just 30 minutes, I decided to turn the oven off and just let the biscuits continue to sit in the warm oven (with the oven door closed) for about 1 hour and 15 minutes.  This way the oven sort of served as food dehydrator and the treats did not get too brown.  Also, when I made the dough for the dog treats, I left out the wheat germ.  That stuff is expensive! $5.00 a jar.  Also, my egg was not extra large so I added in just a tad more water.  For the peanut butter, I used reduced salt/reduced sugar Jif Brand Peanut Butter. 

 

 

Sandy REALLY liked her biscuit. Brutus was not so sure.  Since Sandy like her treat so much, I decided to give her a second one. She ran into the dining room toward a corner, turned her back on Brutus, and sort of blocked Brutus from passing her to get any crumbs that may fall out of her mouth while she was crunching away.  Normally she doesn't mind sharing. 

 

Then Sandy came back into the kitchen where she ate biscuit #1, just to see if maybe some crumbs were left on the floor.

Sandy had a pretty rough day today.  When we went for a walk, she got a fire ant in her paw and it bit the heck out of her. It was hot and inflamed right away and I could tell it bugged her for a few hours.  Then we went to the vet since she was due for some vaccinations.  They took her temperature just to check it (I had mentioned the bug bite).  Then she got two shots.  Rough morning!

Since it was so fun and easy to make dog treats, I decided I should try some other dog treat recipes. I have found some others that look good. I'll keep you posted.