Cooking with Yosuke: Homemade Dog Treats

Yosuke and I decided to make our own dog treats, again.  heh.  I love making these dog treats for him because they are cheaper than buying a box of treats AND I know exactly what it contains.  The recipes are derived from a recipe found on PetGuide.com - I simply tweeked them to fit his needs.

Peanut Butter Cookie Treats:

2 C flour (unbleached all purpose flour)

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/3 C natural peanut butter (stir it before using)

1 C hot water

1 egg

**Yield depends on shape and size of treats.  We chose to make small heart and star shaped treats.  We ended up with 6 dozen treats!**

Chicken or Beef flavored Cookie Treats:

2  C. flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 C hot stock - chicken or beef flavored

1 egg

1 bouillon cube same flavor (optional; adds even more intense flavor of chicken or beef if you think the stock isn't strong enough or if you could only find broth)

Directions for BOTH recipes.

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F.

2. Mix together all dry ingredients (flour and baking powder)

3. In a separate bowl, mix together the peanut butter and hot water until smooth. *Add bouillon cube now* 

4. Slowly add the dry mixture and mix well. Add a little more water or milk if the dough is too dry, or flour if it’s too wet.

5. Gather dough into a ball. Put onto a floured surface and roll out to 1/4" thick.

6. Cut with a cookie cutter and place on a lightly greased or lined cookie sheet.

7. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a golden brown color.  For softer treats, bake for 15 minutes and remove from pan promptly to cool.

8. Store a small number in air-tight container and freeze the remaining treats for later.

Freezing:

1. Let treats cool completely (usually 30 minutes to 1 hour) before freezing

2. Wrap tightly in air tight container. We put the treats in a Ziploc bag and then into a Ziploc container.

3. Place in freezer for later use.  Treats are good for up to two months as long as they are tightly sealed and temperature is maintained.

Thawing:

1. Take out treats from freezer.

2. Remove from packaging and place on tray in a single layer.

3. Allow treats to thaw on counter or in microwave (not on!) loosely wrapped in clear plastic wrap until room temp - usually overnight depending on the thickness and size.

4. Store and serve!

These treats last for.ev.er!  We are just now finishing up our first batch after 4 1/2 months and after giving away tons of them to friends.  Everyone's dogs LOVE them.  I've had several requests for the recipe... so here it is!

Please post pics to our Facebook if you make these treats.  We would love to hear how it went!  Share your favorite homemade treat or stuffing recipes in the comment section.  Happy Baking!