The solution? To make your own, of course. That way you can determine the quality of the ingredients, control fat and protein content, and so on. And it goes without saying that homemade treats are going to be not just healthier, but tastier too! From my own experience, your pets will also really enjoy treats made by you with love too!
Here I'll share my two favorite recipes for dog treats. You can make cat treats yourself, and there are recipes out there, but frankly cats are so picky that it's probably easier to just open a can of tuna for them than it is to try to pick out a recipe that they will enjoy. Ask my friend Becky...She spent hours one year making treats for her cats that they turned their noses up at. She sent them to work with her hubby to give to his friend's sister for her cat and another co-worker found the bag first. He declared them delicious. I rest my case. Dogs- not so finicky.
This first recipe really is my favorite. Yeah, sure, I try to feed my dogs mostly grain free foods- but these biscuits are a real winner. I've never had a dog yet that wouldn't run the Boston Marathon for one, they're easy to make, the ingredients are healthy and when I tasted one myself, they are frankly pretty darn tasty. (Yes, I tasted one myself- I wasn't going to feed something questionable to my dogs). In fact, for a very long time neither one of my dogs would eat a biscuit or treat that WASN'T one of these! Yup, biscuits so good that they turned the dogs into biscuit snobs. Good stuff.
The original recipe was called "Big Barbecue Biscuits". I made a few small changes, and here is my end product. First, you'll need to lay in your ingredients. Whole wheat flour, bulgur wheat (which is a coarse cracked wheat available at most grocery stores where they sell their hot cereal or with their "whole foods"), brewer's yeast (available at brewery supply stores and health food stores- it's wonderful for your dog's skin and coat), beef broth, vegetable oil, and chopped garlic (also good for skin and coat, and a natural flea repellent). That's for the biscuits.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, I use my stand mixer, combine 2 cups whole wheat flour, 1/2 cup bulgur, 2 Tablespoons brewer's yeast, 2 cloves minced garlic (I use the stuff in the jar). Add 3/4 cup beef broth (warm) and 1/4 cup vegetable oil. (Here, you could use half vegetable oil and half flax oil, hemp oil, emu oil or whatever other good for their coat oil you like- but don't substitute the whole amount.
Turn the dough out onto your counter. I lightly flour the counter first, and if you need to knead the dough a little to make it hold together it won't stick to the counter. The warm broth makes this dough very nice to work with. It just feels good in your hands. Generally if it's the right consistency, you should be able to just roll it out. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough out to your desired thickness- I roll it out to between 1/8" and 1/4". You can go thick or thin depending on the size of your dog, just bear in mind that the thickness will change the cooking time a bit.
Now for the fun part: cutting them out. These biscuits are all that is good about making cookies without the trouble of requiring exacting measurements (baking is chemistry, remember?) and worrying about having 40 dozen cookies to add to your waistline.
After you've got your shapes all cut out you'll want to place them on a cookie sheet. If you don't plan to do the bbq glaze, just put them on your cookie sheet- no need to grease or anything. If you do plan to use the glaze, I'd recommend lining your baking sheet with some foil or parchment. The glaze, being egg based, bakes on pretty hard an can be a bit of a pain to scrape off your cookie sheet. As I mentioned, I don't usually bother with the glaze, but for gifting, it DOES look nice.
Then bake the biscuits for about 35 minutes in the 350 degree oven.
Recipe #2- Doggie Bagels. This second recipe for crunchy little bagels is another "go-to" recipe for me because they're also super easy. They would be a great recipe for kids to make as the shape is fun to make. Unlike the above recipe where there was some "hardware" required, this recipe requires almost no equipment to make. Again, I let my stand mixer do the work, but all you really need is a bowl and a spoon.
You will need:
1 cup whole wheat or other whole grain flour
1 cup unbleached white flour
1 package dry yeast (1/4 oz)
1 tablespoon honey
2/3 cup chicken stock, warmed (so that the yeast will rise). I've found that the dough is frequently too stiff with this amount of stock and use 3/4 cup instead.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, combine the whole wheat flour, yeast, and honey. Add the chicken stock and beat for about 3 minutes. Gradually add the remaining flour and mix. Knead for a few minutes until smooth, form into a ball, cover and let rest for about 5 minutes. (I let it rest on top of the stove where it is warm)
I hope you will share these delightful treats with your dogs this holiday season and year round!