"Cookies" and a New Development

Those of you who know me know that I have a little obsession.  And those of you who don't know me, but have read my profile are wondering why I haven't addressed the "ridiculous quantities of cookies" I mentioned.  Well, I haven't talked about it yet because the holidays (and by holidays I mean cookie baking days) only come but once a year.  And I've been working on something else that I'm hoping to unveil for you this week.  

So in an attempt to totally tease you, I thought I'd share with you a story that illustrates exactly how obsessed with cookies I am.

Last weekend, I made Chiquita her own batch of cookies.

I'm such a sucker.

We've been using treats to aid in Chiquita's training, since she is a very food driven dog.  Not want to spend a fortune on dog treats (yeah, $3.49 for a 1/4 pound at Petco's treat bar is a little crazy), I figured I could make something that I knew would be healthy and definitely cheaper.  

After a little searching online, I did find a recipe that was both easy and healthy.  I found I had to make some modifications from the original, but it's essentially the same.  This isn't supposed to be a food blog, but I thought you might enjoy a change of pace.  Especially those of you with your own pups at home.

Peanut Butter Puppy Poppers

courtesy and inspired by Bullwrinkle.com

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 Tbsp. baking powder

1 cup peanutbutter

1 cup milk

1 ripe, mashed banana (This was my addition, since I had just found out the day before that Chiquita likes bananas.  Oh come on, her name is Chiquita--I had to find out!  And I may or may not have contemplated putting a certain sticker from the produce department on her forehead and taking a picture.)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees (or 350 if using a dark pan).

In one bowl combine flour and baking soda.  In another bowl combine peanutbutter, milk and banana.  Whisk until smooth.  Stop and see how much your dog likes peanutbutter by offering her the spatula.  Wait and see if she likes it.  Call your husband into the kitchen to watch.  Laugh when she licks the spatula clean. (Remember, spatula is technically not clean and should be put in sink, not drawer.)  Add dry ingredients to wet mixture and mix with spoon as much as possible and then knead in with hands until a firm dough forms.

Stop to take dog for a walk.  Remember to turn oven off.  Return from walk and turn oven back on.  Dough stays fine on the counter for a hour or so.  Preheat oven again.  Roll dough out (in batches if space is tight) to 1/4 inch thickness and using your dog's favorite cookie cutter, cut into shapes.  Repeat rolling and cutting until all dough is used.  

Bake for 20 minutes on a parchment lined pan.  Practice sit and stay commands with dog when opening oven.  

Cool complete on racks.  Practice leave it command when dog investigates her cookies on the kitchen table.  Store in an airtight container.

 

I made about 4 1/2 dozen dog bones, and put some in the freezer.  I would imagine they'll last a good 1-3 months in the freezer.  That is, of  course, if you want to deprive your dog of cookies for that long.

Oh, and the dog bone cookie cutter?  Yeah, Dave gave that to me about 8 or 9 years ago, before we were even dating.  Who knew?