Homemade dog biscuits are a special gift for the dogs and dog lovers on your Christmas list. Grains, milk powder, and molasses make a nourishing cookie. (If you have any concerns about the ingredients in this recipe, consult your veterinarian.) The carob chips (found in health food stores) only make it seem like human food.
Because chocolate is toxic to dogs, do not replace the carob chips with real chocolate chips in this recipe. If you can’t find carob chips, omit them.
Fido’s Fetching Bones
Special equipment: 4-inch dog-bone-shaped cookie cutter
Preparation time: 40 minutes
Baking time: 45 minutes
Yield: 48 bones
2 cups whole-wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup quick-cooking oats (not the old-fashioned kind)
3/4 cup wheat germ, plus extra for rolling
3/4 cup powdered milk
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup carob chips (do not substitute real chocolate chips)
1 cup beef, chicken, or vegetable broth
1/3 cup molasses
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
Thoroughly mix the whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, oats, wheat germ, powdered milk, and baking soda in a large bowl. Mix in the carob chips. Set aside.
Whisk the broth, molasses, and oil in a small bowl. Add to the flour mixture and stir as much as possible. The mixture will be somewhat dry. Knead a few times into a ball. Divide the ball in half and wrap one-half in plastic.
Working with one of the balls of dough, sprinkle the surface with a little wheat germ and roll the dough out to 1/4 inch. Cut out as many bones as possible and place on one ungreased baking sheet. You can place them as close as 1/2 inch apart because they don’t spread during baking. Save the scraps of dough.
Repeat the steps with the remaining ball of dough and place on a second ungreased baking sheet. Combine the scraps and reroll the dough. Cut out as many bones as possible and place on a baking sheet.
Bake for 45 minutes, rotating once halfway through the baking time. Cool completely on a rack.
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 months.