Friday, July 27, 2007

Pooch Pampering

Doggie Biscuits


Now, I have been quite loyal in providing my family and friends, and even you my dear readers with as many toothsome morsels as I can. There’s been a lot of fodder exchanged on this blog and, many a meal has been passed around but somehow I have been forgetting one thing. What about man’s best friend?

Well, it seems that my dog Jack has expressed his discontent at the way that I have catered to everyone else’s taste buds, but never his. Now we do feed him good (dog) food and even try to be creative by adding combinations to his normally boring cans of food. However it’s been far and few between the treats that really matter- the kind that comes from the heart.

So when I stumbled upon this recipe on Chubby Hubby that he made for his puppy’s birthday, I knew it was Jack's sixth sense spurring me to bake these for him. Now I usually make a point to taste everything I make so that I can faithfully recount it for you on the blog. But this time I thought I would leave it up to Jack.

The making of a doggie biscuit, satisfied customer

As I mentioned, the recipe was taken from Chubby's blog, which in turn was adapted from a Three Dog Bakery Cookbook. The original recipe also includes raisins and pecans, although these two ingredients have been known to cause adverse reactions in some canines, so I decided to omit them. Just to err on the side of caution and perhaps avoid a trip to the veterinarian. Jack hates that place.

The biscuits are also perfect for older, or should I say more mature-aged dogs as the biscuits are not extremely crisp. If your dogs like something a little harder to chew on, bake the biscuits for a few extra minutes but don’t over bake them, as the outsides will burn. I also added a ½-cup of wheat germ as this aids in curbing bad breath.

So for today's post it's all about pampering your pooch. Next time, it’s back to satisfying the taste buds of the two-legged kind- Pears and Tarts.


Ginger’s Fourth of July Snaps

adapted from this blog, which got the recipe from the cookbook Three Dog Bakery
makes 25 ten-cm doggie bones

Doggie Biscuits

¼ cup olive oil
½ cup (unsulfured) molasses
2 tablespoons honey
½ cup water
2¾ cups plain flour
½ cup wheat germ
1 tsp baking soda
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground nutmeg
2 tbsp ground ginger

Preheat oven to 180°C.
Combine the oil, molasses, honey and water in a bowl. (It is advisable to pour the oil first in order to prevent the molasses and honey sticking to the bowl. Do the same with the measuring spoon.) Stir to combine.
In a large bowl, combine the flour, wheat germ, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger.
Whisk to blend evenly before pouring the wet ingredients into the dry mixture. Stir to combine.
On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough. It should come together easily.
Shape it into a ball. Cut a quarter of the dough and keep the rest of it under a damp kitchen towel.
Roll out dough to a ½-cm thickness and then use your cutter to cut out shapes.
The scraps can be gathered into a ball and rolled out again. Repeat with the remaining dough.
Bake for 15-20 minutes or until they are a medium brown colour; don’t let them burn.
Let them cool on a rack and store in an airtight container.

20 comments:

Shing said...

oh they're so cute...makes me miss my dogs (little maltese) at home :'(
can i have a dozon to go, pls :)

Ganesha said...

il sont super ces petits gâteaux ! J'adore ! je n'ai pas le moule pour les faire, mais j'essayerais bien .

Jerry said...

How wonderful. See with all the vets saying that you have to watch what the dog eats, I am surprised by the dog recipes in Rachael Ray's magazine, however, I can't compete with biscuits. Now I have to go find a dog.

Marie Rayner said...

These look so good I wasn't sure at first if they were for dogs or humans? Even after reading the recipe they seem good enough to eat. SO are they for dogs? or are they for people? or can we just share! :-)

Blue Zebra said...

Jack's a lucky dog, Jenni! Sooo darling and they look "good enough to eat!" (but I don't think I will just now. :D )

I love your product staging. Your photos are very inviting and professional!

WTG!

Anonymous said...

This post is TOO adorable! I've never wanted to eat a dog bone before! Hehe. And the name of the recipe - too cute! Thanks for sharing this. I've always loved dogs but growing up in my parents' house have never been able to have one. I'm getting an apartment next year and I'm making sure it allows dogs!

Susan from Food Blogga said...

What a lucky pooch to have a biscuit made by you. Love, love, love the shot with your little monkey!

Anonymous said...

Awwww, so cute. I love the treats and the pic of your pooch. I hope he was thrilled to be so pampered.

myriam said...

can i be your dog in my next life? ;-)

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

how sweet!! I definitely would love to make homemade treats for my dog :0)

Anonymous said...

So sweet... hugs and kisses to Jack :)

Anonymous said...

it's the first time i see your blog and waaaouuu! your pic are so beautiful, i could eat everything!

Bruno said...

Lucky Jack... the biscuit recipe sounds so good I would eat them myself, or shape them differently and serve them to my friends :-)

Jessica said...

I love this cutter, it's so cute!!
Where can I buy it?

Anonymous said...

I love it! I've made cookies (er, biscuits) for Oreo too and she loves them. What a lucky pooch you have. :)

Ari (Baking and Books)

Jen said...

Charis- Aww, I bet you poochies would love some of these treats. If a dozen is what you want, then a dozen is what you'll get! : )

Ganesha- Merci tellement. Ils sont adorables. Je suis sûr que vous pourrez trouver le coupeur de biscuit à n'importe quel bon magasin d'approvisionnement de traitement au four.
(Thanks to Babelfish)

Jerry- Good luck with finding a dog, otherwise you could probably just make them for yourself : )

Marie- I think that they could pretty well be both for dog and human consumption. They don't have anything too weird in them, like dried meat or anything. Let me know if you ever give them a try : )

Blue Zebra- Jack thought he was pretty lucky too : ) Thanks.

Hillary- Well I hope you get your apartment very soon and get yourself a puppy so you can go ahead and make these biscuits.

Susan- Thank you, yeah the monkey wanted some for himself, but it was all for Jack this time.

Lynn- He was more than thrilled and the great thing is that the treats last a fairly long time, if you put the biscuits in an air tight container.

Myriam- Aww, that's sweet, but I think its nicer that were friends in this life : )

Veggie Girl- It's definitely fun to make treats for your dog. Theres a sens of accomplishment and satisfaction for you and your pooch.

Keiko- Thanks so much, he has been a very happy dog of late.

Mimosa- Thank you, I hope you stop by again.

BrunosDream- You know what, I bet your friends wouldn't even think they were eating from a dog biscuit recipe. Give it a try!

Tuki- I bought this cutter from a specialist cooking supply store called the Essential Ingredient here in Sydney. I am sure you can find it at any good baking/cooking store.

Ari- That's great to hear that you made them for Oreo. Isn't it so fun? And I bet Oreo loved it too.

Truffle said...

Oh how delicious! I love a biscuit with a bit of spice. Forget the pooch, I'll happily eat the whole tray!

Anonymous said...

hi jenjen, thanks for your comment. i switched the picture of nikita. she looks amazing now... you have to check it out again on my blog! cheers, gwen

Unknown said...

Your photographs are so beautiful you are inspiring me to up my game! I love the recipe - I just posted a doggie recipe too http://cookbookcatchall.blogspot.com/2007/05/dog-food-thats-food.html - nothing I wouldn't do for her!

Helene said...

I know my collie/sheltie Tippy is going to love you and Jack for these! Thanks a bunch!