Fundraising fare
If you're planning to donate an item to a fundraising event - whether it's the dog training Christmas party or even the church fête - baking dog biscuits or doggy cupcakes isn't only different but easy. Put them into special boxes or cellophane bags tied with ribbon and they make great gifts as well.
These muffins can be decorated with carob drops or perhaps low-fat cream cheese and grated carrot to make them really appealing.
Doggy muffins
Ingredients
- 1 cooking apple
- 2 mugs of wholemeal flour
- ½ mug of rolled oats
- 2 teaspoons of baking powder
- 1 small tub of natural yogurt
- 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil
- 3 tablespoons of runny honey
- 3 eggs
- 200g cheese
- Water
Preheat the oven to 190C, gas mark 5
To make
- Core, peel, and grate the apple.
- Place the flour, oats, and baking powder into a large mixing bowl.
- Mix the yogurt, vegetable oil, honey, and beaten eggs in a smaller bowl until combined.
- Add the wet mix to the flour.
- Grate the cheese and add to the mix along with the grated apple; stir well.
- You should have a thick dropping mixture; add water if necessary.
- Drop enough mixture into a non-stick muffin tray to half fill.
- Place in the oven for about 25 minutes or until cooked.
- Remove and leave to cool.
Carob drops make good decorations and are fine for dogs. Human chocolate, however, is not; eating as little as two ounces of human chocolate with a high cocoa content can be fatal for dogs. The higher the cocoa content the higher the toxicity of the product. When cooking for dogs with chocolate use carob or doggy choc drops. Seek veterinary attention immediately should your dog ingest any human chocolate.
Treats for my sweet
Dogs will do anything for a tasty snack and peanut marbles are very easy to make.
They're ideal to use when training your dog (dogs love the taste of peanut butter), just make them smaller than shown in the photograph.
Peanut marbles
Dogs love the flavour of peanut butter and will do anything for a taste. Keep the marbles small if using these for training.
Ingredients
- 3 mugs of wholemeal flour
- 2 tablespoons of baking powder
- 1 small jar of crunchy peanut butter
- 1 mug of milk
Preheat the oven to 220C, gas mark 7
To make
- Add the flour and baking powder into a large mixing bowl.
- In another bowl mix together the peanut butter and milk until they are combined.
- Add the liquid mix to the flour and stir well. This should give you a firm dough.
- Pull marble-sized pieces (small for training, larger for general treats) from the dough and roll between your palms to form small balls.
- Place each ball on to a greased baking tray and flatten the centre with your finger.
- Bake in the centre of the oven until brown and firm, and turn out on to a cooling tray.
- When cold store in an airtight container.
Baking with children
Children enjoy helping their parents in the kitchen and there's no better way for them to start than by baking some biscuits for the family dog. It will bond them with their pet and lead to learning about canine nutrition and the daily care of a dog. No child will be able to resist feeding their own dog and knowing that they helped cook the biscuits themselves.
- Parents: ensure children are supervised.
Bacon and Parmesan biscuits
When baking for your dog, cut the treats down to the correct size for your individual pet. Use fancy biscuit cutters to make the treats look as professional as shop-bought varieties. Biscuit cutters can be purchased in the shape of dog paws, bones, or even different breeds of dog.
Ingredients
- 6 streaky bacon rashers (you can use bacon off-cuts for this recipe)
- 2 mugs of wholemeal flour
- ¼ mug of grated Parmesan cheese
- ½mug of warm water
- 1 egg
- 1 vegetable stock cube
Preheat oven to 190C, gas mark 5
To make
- Fry the bacon in a non-stick pan until cooked but not brown or crispy.
- Once the bacon has cooled place into a blender and blitz.
- Put the flour, cheese, and bacon into a mixing bowl.
- Crumble the stock cube into the water and stir until dissolved.
- Beat the egg and add to the mixing bowl along with enough of the stock to make a fi rm dough.
- Turn out on to a floured board and roll to an inch in thickness.
- Using biscuit cutters, cut into shapes.
- Cook on a non-stick baking tray for 40 minutes or until brown and crispy.
- Place biscuits on a wire rack to cool, then pack them into an airtight container.