Pup'kin Dog Biscuits

Today I branched out and made some doggy biscuits.  We had a sweet friend (they have three schnauzers)  whom cared for Lady, our German, and Midnight, our cat.  I wanted to do something for them, plus try this recipe out.  In an October issue of EveryDay with Rachael Ray, (they have recipes just for dogs) they had Pup'kin dog biscuits ***by Sarah Zorn. If you go to RR Mag Pet Friendly section, they have many more recipes just for our furry friends.

  Ingredients

• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup canned pure pumpkin puree
• 2 tbsp. dry milk powder
• 2 1/2 cups white or whole wheat flour** (please see note below about using brown rice flour)

Directions:

1. 

   2" diameter biscuit cutter

   Preheat the oven to 350°. In a bowl, stir together the eggs, pumpkin puree, milk powder and flour; add 2 tsp. water, or enough so that the dough just comes together.
2. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough 1/2 inch thick. Cut into shapes with 1-inch cookie cutters. Gather the scraps, combine, roll and form more biscuits; repeat until all the dough is used.
3. Place the biscuits 1 inch apart on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes, then turn over and bake until hardened, another 20 minutes. Let cool on the pan for 5 minutes.

cut the treats into fourths

When the dog treats are completely done, they will be hard, dry and crisp.   They will be hard for you to break in your hands--and better for your dog's teeth.

 It's supposed to make about 3 dozen, but I used a 2" diameter biscuit cutter, cut those into fourths and have manageable bite size pieces (easier for smaller dogs), easy to store and not too filling. 

Pup'kin Biscuit Treats

You can store these pumpkin dog treats for a month or so at room temperature.

* I doubled the recipe because I didn't want to waste 1/2 a can of canned pumpkin, and thus did not use as much flour as they stated.  When I rolled it out and kneaded it some, some of that flour was used.  Because I have so many, I'll freeze some and give some to another friend who has a has a small dog.

Lady and Duke's (my friend's schnauzer) assessment:  They ate them easily and begged for more!  Next time, I think I'm going to try Jessica Gorman's Olive Oil and Bacon Truffles.

Lady begging for more!

 According to Fido Dog Treats
As simple as it sounds, pumpkin is not beef, corn, wheat gluten or any other ingredient that is well known for causing allergic conditions in dogs. In most all instances, these dog treats are vegetarian. This reason alone makes pumpkin a tempting alternative for many pet owners (although the ingredients list of any treat should be double-checked should your dog suffer from these or other food allergies). In addition to the absence of these ingredients, pumpkin based dog treats tend to be made with many other natural, nutritious items that dogs find hard to resist. Pumpkin is known to be quite palatable and widely accepted by even the most hard to please canine palettes. 

**Some dogs are not able to tolerate Wheat or cornmeal. Brown Rice Flour is a great substitute to use as it gives a crunch and helps with digestion
as Marilyn from Simmer til Done noted in this post.

 

*** Pumpkin dog treats are also considered to be a great choice for dogs that tend to suffer from an upset stomach or the varying forms of motion sickness. It is said to benefit dogs with issues related to diarrhea and vomiting although it is highly recommend that you consult with your veterinarian should your pet have issues with these ailments.