In actuality I think I just got bored and wanted to try something different. So what might dogs like? Bacon! I have a few other flavors planned such as blueberry, banana, cheese, and something else if I can think of it. Maybe carrot. I’m not sure if our dog likes carrots though.

But I now know for a fact that she likes the bacon ones.

Its really incredibly awesome how these cook up. They always look so tasty too, but they really aren’t very tasty for human tongues. Don’t be like my Husband and lure friends into eating the cookies. Its just mean. My dog loved it though. I’ll have to test them on some of my friends dogs also to see if they work out well.

To make this work well, you need to get the bacon nice and crisp. Make sure also to drain these really well of their grease so that you can control the moisture content of the cookies.

I chopped the bacon with a knife first and then later put it into the mixer and beat it up really good. I think for this to work, the bacon definitley needs to be crispy or it’ll just swirl around in the bowl.

The dough is different than a cookie dough, very oily. I think it’s extra oily just because I put some of the bacon drippings in it also for extra flavor. I had to add a bit more flour to make it hold together like a dough and not just be a batter.

I loved how this dough rolled out. The dark flecks of bacon just looked so cool running through it all. Unfortunately it also made it harder to cut them out with the cookie cutter I use. I generally make them smaller so we can give our dog a few and it seems like we’re giving her more. I think its more of mental game we like to play with ourselves.

The whole reason I started making our pup her own cookies is because she had some dental work done and lost quite a few teeth, and the home made ones I can control how hard and crispy they are. They tend to crumble in her mouth which is good and exactly what she needs.

Don’t be worried if they get almost foamy when they cook. The foam will go away and the cookies will remain crispy.

Bacon Dog Cookies
Makes about 100 small cookies, depends on the size.

• 1 lb. bacon
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup oil
• 2 eggs
• 3 cups flour
• 1/2 cup cornmeal
• 1/2 cup oats

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF.
2. In a pan, cook the bacon until crisp. Set the bacon aside to drain of fat and reserve the drippings.
3. When cool, crumble the bacon in a large mixing bowl. Add the water, oil and eggs and beat until combined. Add roughly half of the bacon drippings and mix.
4. Whisk dry ingredients together and mix into wet mixture to form a ball of dough. Add more flour as needed to create a slightly sticky and oily dough, but one that will roll out easily without crumbling
5. Roll out until roughly 1/4” thick. Using a cookie cutter, create the desired shape.
6. Transfer to a parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake for 35 minutes or until nicely browned and cooked through.
7. Cool on a wire rack then transfer to an air tight container.

I wanted to start making my own dog treats for her when she went though some really icky dental problems. She lost quite a few teeth and so we had to be a bit more careful with what food we gave her, especially treats since the ones in the store can be either foul smelling or really hard.

So I decided she would have the tastiest ones I could make. It really is quite interesting when you start looking for recipes for animals. Many of them call for liver puree, bacon, or some other type of meat. I really didn’t want to make a special trip to the store for this, and I really didn’t want to have to make liver puree… ew.

After some research I decided on peanut butter. Its a very simple recipe and none of the ingredients seem as though they would be problematic for animals. Chocolate, grapes, raisins, and garlic are a few things that I’ve found out are bad for dogs. Also be careful when making this recipe that you don’t put too much sugar, if any, in the cookies. Because really, we don’t really need a sugar-wired animal running through the house.

The recipe turned out greater than expected, they are still a crunchy cookie but soft enough for her to chew without damaging her mouth. I usually will double the recipe and keep half in the freezer for later. The dough is much more oily, than say a sugar cookie dough, but really easy to work with.

You know what you make is good when you suddenly have 70lbs of fur flying at you wanting another.

I love my pup.

Peanut Butter Dog Treats

• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup oil
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup peanut butter
• 2 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup cornmeal
• 1/2 cup oats

1. Preheat oven to 400ºF.
2. Beat the eggs until frothy, then add the oil, water, vanilla and peanut butter until combined.
3. Whisk dry ingredients together and mix into wet mixture to form a ball of dough.
4. Roll out until roughly 1/4 inch thick. Using a cookie cutter, create the desired shape.
5. Transfer to a parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake for 20 minutes or until nicely browned and cooked through.
6. Cool on a wire rack then transfer to an air tight container.