Krafts and Konfections: Dog Cookies

For those of you who know me, you know that there are few ~~people~~ critters I love more than dogs - especially MY dogs, Princess and Paco. There is something about the nature of a dog that speaks to my soul. My dogs are more like children to me than pets. In fact, for as long as I can remember, I've always loved dogs. My first pet was Sandy, the cockapoo. She was a rescue that came into our lives when I was a baby. She lived to be about 12 years old and passed away from congestive heart failure when I was in 6th grade. I was absolutely devastated but I know that she is snuggling with my mama in Heaven!

For my 16th birthday, my sister bought me my special Princess. She is a Schnoodle and very much so lives up to her name. Princess and I have been BFF since the day I got to take her home. She is the most loyal and protective dog I have ever known! Princess has been there for me through so much - in fact, we are so connected that she immediately knows when something is upsetting me. If I cry, she is right at my hip ready to console me. What's more, she doesn't even have to hear me cry, she just instinctively knows when I'm upset. Empathy is definitely Princess's 6th sense and I love her so much!

Princess, schnoodle (born 8.09.1999)

Francis never had the experience of a puppy growing up, so I knew we had to have a young puppy when it was [finally] time to get one. I had wanted a puppy for a very long time, but Francis was adamant about waiting until after the wedding was over to bring one home. Since I'm not really known for my "patience" and generally get my "way", Paco came into our lives just two days after returning from our Honeymoon. A common hobby of ours at the time was to tour open houses with our friends Bobby and Amanda. After an open house adventure on a Sunday afternoon, I [somehow] convinced Francis to "just look" at puppies - we only had about 45 minutes until the store closed anyway. (Enter devious smile here.) Anywho, we noticed Paco in a glass box and the rest is history. We instantly fell in love - as do most people who meet Paco. He's the kind of dog who has never met a stranger and has no enemies. He is simply the happy-go-lucky gem that I am ever grateful for. The kid seriously sees right through me and accepts me for who I am. Paco would seriously be the perfect therapy dog, simply because he can't help but bring joy to any room. We love him so much and are so thankful he came into our lives!

Paco, maltichon (Born 3.17.2009)

You might be saying to yourself, Wait a minute, I thought the name of this post was "Dog Cookies". Hehe. I could seriously go on and on about my dogs - so in the interest of your readership, I'll get on to the cookie part.

Over the last several months, I've been baking up a storm. I'd say the obsession began when I was locked up at home after having surgery on my shoulder last summer. One day I said to myself, Self, you are constantly baking for yourself and for others, why do your beloved dogs need to miss out on the goodies? And then the research began... On that day, when I began to research recipes for homemade dog cookies, I didn't have all of the ingredients for any one recipe. So, alas, I made my own - and I'm (especially the dogs!) super happy with the way they turned out! Here is the recipe I used:

Dog Cookies

Ingredients:

1 C rolled oats (chopped and turned to "flour" in a food processor)

1 C cornmeal

1/4 C peanut butter

2 bananas

Directions:

In a food process, pulse the oats several times until a fine flour is developed. Add in the remainder ingredients and pulse until a dough is formed.

Empty the dough onto a lightly floured work surface. (It may be necessary to further "combine" ingredients so they are more cohesive.) Roll out dough using wax paper. Cut out in desired shapes.

Place cut-out cookies on a silicon baking mat; bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes.

Seriously, my dogs beg for these cookies and they keep very well!