Homemade Dog Treats

I know, this isn't a snack you can actually eat, but we can't leave man's best friend out, can we?  It seems like it has become harder to find healthy snacks for dogs.  A lot of brands claim to be healthy, but when the first ingredient isn't a natural one, or you can't pronounce half of the ingredients, then you can bet it probably isn't too healthy.  A few things to remember before making your own treats, dogs tend to be lactose intolerant, so no dairy please (if you use cheese, small amounts are ok).  Also, don't use wheat products, I like to stick to using rice flour in my recipes.  The base recipe is gluten free and organic (just in case you were wondering).  I'm going to give you an open ended base recipe, which means I'll leave an open slot for creativity.  So, here we go!

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups of brown rice flour
1/2 cup of cornmeal
1/4 cup of rolled oats
1 egg
1 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 tbsp. brown sugar
1/2 cup cold water
**Now here is the open ended part.  The above recipe is your base recipe, which means from here on out, add what you'd like!  Here are some things I like to add: cranberries, apples, bananas, sweet potatoes, bacon, sardines (which promotes a healthy coat....think about switching the vegetable oil for 1 tbsp of the oil from packed sardines), carrots, etc.**

Directions (I''ll use the apples here):
Blend flour, cornmeal, and oats in large mixing bowl, then add the apple (grated), egg, oil, brown sugar, and water until well blended. Flour your workspace and roll out dough to desired thickness (about 3/4 of an inch thick for me).  Use a cookie cutter of your choice (I used a star!) to cut out shapes.  Rework and roll out dough again to get more cookies.  Once all of the dough is use, place on a baking sheet (I sprinkle cornmeal on my baking sheet, I find it keeps the cookies from sticking).  Bake at 350 degrees (F) for 40 minutes.  Once baked, turn off the oven, and let your cookies sit in the oven for another35-45 minutes until crisp.  Once finished, these treats will last about 2-3 months in an airtight container (unless you use bacon or sardines, then 1-2 months).  



My dog Sage loves her homemade cookies so much!  Here she is waiting patiently for them to come out of the oven!!!