Baking for Fido

HB is now in his 12th year and still pretty spry for an aged giant breed dog. I don't give him table food very often and now that we live in Finland the treats he used to like in the US aren't available. I anticipated that it would be difficult or impossible to find the biscuits he likes and ordered 2 cookbooks before moving so I could bake some for him myself; Real Food for Dogs and Better Food for Dogs. He loves both of the following recipes enough to lick every crumb and morsel off of the floor :)

Real Food for Dogs has only one recipe worth noting, the cheese please biscuit recipe, which cleverly binds the fats and flavour to the oats which are usually left uncooked in most recipes. However, much of the rest of the book has recipes that are clearly not for the larger breeds or for anything more than very occasional treats. There are adorable illustrations throughout the book.

Cheese Please Biscuits
pg. 12, Real Food for Dogs

• 1.5 cups boiling water
• 1 cup quick-cooking oats, uncooked
• .25 cup butter or margarine softened to room temp.
• 1 or 2 beef or chicken bullion cubes [ optional ]
• 1 cup grated cheddar cheese
• 1 egg, whisked
• .5 cup powdered milk
• pinch salt
• 1 cup cornmeal
• 1 cup wheat germ
• 3 cups whole wheat flour

1. Preheat the oven to 325°F / 170°C
2. Boil water.
3. Pour the hot water into a large bowl and add the oats and the butter [ and bullion cubes ].
4. Stir the mixture and let stand for 5 minutes.
5. Add the cheese, egg, milk and salt and stir with a spoon.
6. Blend in the cormeal and the wheat germ.
7. Slowly add the flour, a bit at a time, until you form a stiff dough.
8. Roll dough to desired thickness and cut into bones or other shapes with a cookie cutter.
9. Place on non-stick or greased baking sheet and bake for 50 minutes or until golden brown.
10. Turn off heat and let biscuits remain inside the oven for an hour to make them crunchy.

Note: The dough can be quite stiff. Also, these biscuits go from brown to black very quickly due to the cheese so mind the baking time closely.

Better Food for Dogs has quite a few practical recipes which are graduated by weight and dietary need. A large part of the book is about dog health and nutrition which is nicely done and not so scientific as to put you to sleep. The recipes are fairly simple, in both metric and imperial measures, and easy to make. Each chapter also has references and websites listed as further resources. The authors seem to be fond of canola oil [ rapeseed oil ], but I prefer to use sunflower oil as either will do. It's an excellent book if you want a few good recipes for treats and occasional dinners for your dog as well as get a bit of knowledge about canine nutrition.

Carrot Apple Oatmeal [ Peanut Butter ] Flax Cookies
pg. 182, Better Food for Dogs

• 3 cups / 750ml whole wheat flour
• 1 cup / 250ml quick-cooking rolled oats
• 2 tbsp / 25ml flaxseeds
• 1/2 tsp / 2ml ground cinnamon
• 3/4 cup / 175ml water
• 1/2 cup / 125ml chopped carrot
• 1/4 cup / 50ml finely chopped cored apple
• 2 tbsp / 25ml each blackstrap molasses and canola oil
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp / 5ml vanilla

1. In a large bowl, combine flour, oats, flaxseeds and cinnamon. In a food processor, combine water, carrot, apple molasses, oil, egg and vanilla. Puree until smooth. Pour over dry ingredients and mix well.
2. In the bowl and using hands, knead until dough holds together. Transfer to lightly floured surface. Roll out dough with rolling pin to about 1/8-inch(3mm) thickness and cut with bone shaped cookie cutter. Place on lightly greased baking sheets.
3. Bake in preheated oven at 350°F(180°C) for 20 minutes or until firm. Reduce oven temperature to 300°F(150°C). Bake for 30 minutes longer or until hard. Transfer cookies to a rack and let cool completely. Store in a tightly sealed container for up to 30 days.

Note: I add about 1/2 a jar of natural peanut butter [ no added sugar ] to the wet mixture for added flavour. I use one of the handheld chopper/blender/mixer gadgets and find it works better than a food processor. The dough is really easy and quick to blend if a bit rubbery so be sure to keep some extra flour handy.