Gone To The Dogs!

Today Shelby, the dog, needed something special just for her.  She is a peanut butter freak and we have been buying her peanut butter treats, but they are nearly $4 a bag.  As much as I adore her I am a little reluctant to spend that much on dog treats.  We don't want her to eat all the bad stuff in the more inexpensive doggie biscuits so the only other option was to make some for her with ingredients I was certain of.   Son2 emailed a recipe for them so it was a quick jump from reading the recipe to mixing them to shaping, and baking.

                                                        Quick Easy Dog Treats

2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup oatmeal
1/3 cup peanut butter
1 1/4 cup water

Mix all ingredients in a bowl until smooth and thoroughly combined.  Roll on a floured surface and cut with cookie cutters into desired shapes.  (Is there another dork besides me who has a dog bone cookie cutter that had only been used before on cookies for people?) Alternate method: Roll flat and use a pizza cutter to make very quick, no waste pieces.  Cut the dough in about 1 inch strips across. cut them up and down into about 2 inch strips.  The result will be a lot of rectangle pieces with a few odd ones from the edges. (Unless you roll yours in a rectangle to begin with, which was more trouble than I thought it was worth.)  I promise your dog will not care about the shape.  Place on a lightly greased cookie sheet or a non greased no-stick sheet.  Bake at 350 for about 40 minutes.  They will become darker brown and very hard.  Remove from the oven and let them cool on a rack. Keep in a plastic bag in the fridge for about a week.  Freeze for longer storage. ( Ours do not last long enough to freeze)

These are a snap to make.  I did not use a spoon.  I just dug in with my hands and kneaded it until everything was mixed completely. It might have taken me 2 minutes.  I patted them out on a floured cutting board and rolled them about between 1/8 and 1/4 inch thick.  I only cut a few with the dog bone cookie cutter.  The rest I just used the pizza cutter method.  Shelby does not prefer one over the other. All she cares about is the peanut butter flavor.

We all tried a bite of one cookie treat.  They taste like a whole wheat peanut butter cracker without salt. I guess I could have just as easily made these for us also, but I think Shelby might give me her famous "If I could I would eat your face right now" look.  Your treats are safe Shelby!