!#71# Everything But the Kitchen Sink Homemade Doggy Biscuits

!±8± Everything But the Kitchen Sink Homemade Doggy Biscuits

I regularly bake homemade doggy biscuits, and people always want to know how I make them...

In all honesty, I make them differently every single time. I always make the joke that Everything But the Kitchen Sink goes into them.

If you're a person that doesn't mind "experimenting" and cooking without a concise recipe, then you'll love this project!!! Really, you can't go wrong...You're making really dry, crunchy, little treats for your dogs that love to eat just about anything...Don't be scared!!!

We regularly have very healthy ingredients, in bulk, that I can use for the base of the biscuits, such as organic rolled oats, wheat germ & bran, unsweetened coconut, whole what flour, etc.

Firstly, I check out what we have in the way of healthy leftovers, such as meat without a lot of fat or seasonings. I will cut it up and throw it in the bowl.

Next...is there leftover rice, bulgur, beans??? Anything like that? If so, I throw it in. How about vegetables that you are not going to eat? Throw that in too. Leftover soup? Mash it all up and add that too (provided there is little salt and fat).

Stay away from anything with sugar, excessive amounts of salt or fats. Follow your common sense, meaning, if you shouldn't be eating it in a healthy diet, don't feed it to your dogs...

* CHOCOLATE of any kind is like a POISON to your dog! NEVER EVER add this to your dog's diet!

Do not add baking soda or baking powder...We're not looking for the treats to rise or puff up when baked...We're trying to dry out the ingredients!

Now that you have the base of your leftovers, haul out your rolled oats, bran, seeds, nuts, coconut, wheat germ...whatever you have. DO NOT use white flour to bind the mixture! Use whole wheat flour or another type of whole flour.

Organic ingredients are best, of course.

Some Interesting Additions:

* I ALWAYS add at least 3-4 tbsp of parsley into the mixture for bad breath.

* I add either cinnamon or mint extract/oil for bad breath as well.

* Cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg (to calm a hyper dog)...use your imagination!

* There are times I add olive oil, simply to add liquid to the mixture and for health reasons.

* Try apple sauce, yogurt or salsa...My dogs love salsa (we bought a salsa that was organic, etc, that we didn't like at all...No worries, you didn't waste your money, add it to the recipe!)

* Apple Cider Vinegar is good for dogs too, just like it is for you!

* Eggs with egg shells...That's what I said...Crush them up of course, but it will provide your dogs with another good source of calcium. The hard shells become more brittle when baked and therefore, they crumble easier. I always add at least 2 eggs to bind the mixture altogether.

* Natural rice puffs or corn puffs cereal.

* Cut up or grated fruits and vegetables.

Tips:

* You want a "cookie-type" mixture...Meaning not too liquid, not dry either...You want it to have the right moisture content in it to spoon the mixture into little mounds, like cookies, on a cookie sheet.

...So, if you need more liquid, add water, vegetable juice...something wet...If you need it less watery, add oatmeal/rolled oats or bran and wait for a few minutes until the liquid is soaked up.

* Bake on 325 degrees for approximately 1 hr...more or less...Now, you want the cookies to be very very dry for storage...If you need to bake longer, turn oven down to 300 degrees for 30 min - 1 hr.

...If you have any type of meat in the biscuits, ensure the cookies are completely dry before finishing baking them. Crunchy treats clean your dog's teeth too!

* These biscuits have no preservatives and because of this, they do not keep a very long time. You will often make in excess of 100 cookies, so store them in open air...DO NOT enclose, as they tend to mold quickly if you do.

I have never met ONE dog that didn't love these biscuits. In fact, even finicky dogs like my mother's Westie-Poo beg for them. They're good for them...No worries!

More often than not, the biscuits you make at home will be much healthier, cheaper, safer and more nutritious than anything you'll get on the market for your pooch!

We make a batch of these every couple of weeks and our dogs just know it when we start mixing!

by Kimberly Edwards