Who can resist showering their beloved pooch with gifts during the holiday season? Instead of the usual chew bone or fuzzy toy, why not try this homemade dog treat – it’s very easy to make and doesn’t require a lot of ingredients. With different baking options and a few variations it’s also quite versatile.
Basic Ingredients:
1 cup Cornmeal
1 cup All Purpose Flour (to make gluten free or organic you can use any of the following flours as alternatives (Oat Flour, Brown Rice Flour, Rye Flour or Whole Wheat Flour)
4 Tablespoons of Baking Powder
1 cup Milk (any type i.e. Full, Non fat, Skimmed, etc)
1 Whole Egg – slightly beaten
½ cup Corn Oil (or Vegetable, Canola and for organic use Safflower). You can make it even yummier by adding bacon fat!
Directions:
Combine all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Add liquids and beat until smooth. Pour into a greased 8” x 2” square baking pan. Bake in a preheated oven at 425 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes. Take out of oven and let cool in pan for 15 minutes and than slice into bars for the size of your dog or friends dogs. If you prefer muffins than use a mini muffin pan and bake for approx. 10 minutes and if using a regular muffin pan bake for 15 to 18 minutes.
Storage: These goodies should be kept in an airtight container in the fridge and will last 7 days (if your pooch hasn’t devoured them all by then!). They can also be kept frozen for 30 days in sealed Ziploc bags. Bundle in small quantities if freezing so when you want to give your pooch a treat you can take a bag out and let them defrost in the fridge before serving.
VARIATIONS
Try turning them into Italian Corn Bread by adding a tablespoon of tomato paste and ¼ tsp of garlic salt and ½ tsp of dried parsley or dried oregano.
For the Vegan Dog try adding a ½ cup of grated carrots or ½ cup of Zucchini
Cheese Lovers add ½ cup of Cheddar or Parmesan
For fruit loving dogs, you can add some dried or defrosted frozen cranberries for an even more tastier and festive treat!
This recipe is from the kitchen of WILMA’S BARKERY located at Good Companions Kennels & Cattery in Kingston, New Brunswick, Canada
The owners, Sally and John Weston, are former residents of Bermuda and are fans of Lindo’s Group of Companies. For more information visit www.boardingkennels.org/Canada
