Doggie Treats

In an attempt to save my waistline, I took the evening off from baking treats for myself & decided to tackle doggie cookies. First off, I have the pickiest dog ever. He is ridiculous with his food. He eats sooooo slowly and scatters his food... sometimes in patterns (ie at my in-laws house, he tends to place them on the dark spots on the carpet... and my parents house, he tends to place them on the tile grout... and at our house, we've witnessed some pretty sophisticated shapes for a dog). I have a basket filled with treats and he only loves a select few. He will eventually eat the others but he doesn't gobble them down.



Needless to say, I was curious to see if he'd like homemade treats.... and he does!!!! He gobbled them down. Seriously gobbled. So this is a keeper. I brought them next door to Simon's girlfriend, Alli, and she enjoyed them as well.

Pumpkin Pie Biscuits
Beantown Tails November 2009 (http://www.tailsinc.com/)
Yields 30 biscuits

1 1/2 cup unbleached flour
1 cup rolled oats
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
2 tbsp canola oil
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1/4 cup natural unsalted peanut butter (I ran out of my Teddy PB so I used Skippy)
1/4 cup filtered water

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees
2. Measure the flour, rolled oats, baking powder, cinnamon, and ginger into a mixing bowl. Whisk until combined.
3. Make a well in the flour and add the canola oil. Mix on medium speed using a paddle attachment until crumbly. Add the pumpkin and peanut butter, and stir until combined. 
4. Add the water all at once and mix until dough forms and all the ingredients are combined. 
5. Turn the dough out onto a slightly floured surface and gently knead until dough is smooth and soft. I used the Kitchen Aid mixer with the dough attachment and kneaded it for about 5 minutes until smooth and soft. Roll the dough 1/4-inch thick and cut the biscuits into desired shapes with cookie cutters. 
6. Place the biscuits on a parchment-lined cookie sheet and bake 12-15 minutes until they are dry and firm to the touch. Turn the oven off and leave the biscuits in another 20-30 minutes. Remove them from the oven, cool them on a baking rack, and store them in a cookie tin.  

Horrible picture but you can see the happiness in his face and his tongue lick saying "yummy!"!!


And just for laughs- two pics of the zoo enjoying the canned pumpkin!