I bake for dogs, and they eat it up
Puppy season kicked off last month, with posts on social media and a flood of photographs and videos filling up my feed. My friends and their friends, and, it seems like everyone else's friends, are adopting puppies and dogs of all ages. At the farmers market, the cute-o-meter is off the charts with wiggling fur bundles causing human traffic jams.
It makes sense. There is more time to manage a new member of the household in the summer, when the days are long enough for training sessions and snow doesn't intrude on walkies.
When I'm invited to meet a newly ensconced pup, I arrive with a package of DIY dog biscuits. I first made them for our dog Dylan, who struggled with food allergies and a touchy tummy but never said no to such a biscuit. I make them with healthful grocery store ingredients, and, while I certainly could eat them, they don't taste delicious to me. To dogs, however, they are scrumptious.
There are a few particulars about the ingredients I use: sugar-free peanut butter, because sugar is bad for dogs; only safflower oil, because it is easy for dogs to digest; and no pre-grated cheese, because the bagged kind is often coated with cornstarch or another additive that is not ideal for canine digestion. Because the biscuits contain no preservatives, they can get moldy in a few days, so I keep them refrigerated.
The accompanying recipes yield lots of biscuits, especially when you are baking treats sized for the little guys. You can freeze the treats in zip-top bags and take out a dozen at a time, or portion the dough into quarters and freeze each section separately. Roll, cut and bake as needed.
I have found that most dogs are not so picky about their biscuits. Morty, our mini schnauzer, has decided he is not that into my cheesy biscuits, yet he scarfs down the peanut butter ones. Our mixed terrier Louie happily runs off with — and guards for hours — any biscuit offered. Some dogs might be wary of a new treat, but don't give up hope. Eventually, they'll find the biscuits irresistible.
You can produce these biscuits quickly, blending the few ingredients by hand or in a stand mixer. The dough is flexible and easy to handle. When it seems too wet, add more flour. You can reroll scraps. Pastry standards for our four-legged friends are forgiving.
I like to use bone-shaped cookie cutters and have them in big- and little-dog sizes. Of course, any cookie cutter will work; sometimes I skip that step and simply use a ruler and knife to measure and cut two-inch squares.
Once the biscuits are done, turn off the oven and let them dry out on their baking sheets as the oven cools. I often let them sit out on the counter overnight, to crisp up even more. A crunchy biscuit is a good biscuit.
Every new puppy owner will face trying moments — a favorite pair of shoes devoured, trash cans upended, howling at sirens. Bring a bottle of wine and your bag of treats to ease the transition. While you are visiting, teach the dog a trick; I opt for the high-five. Then, give that dog a bone.
• Carrie Barrow is a Washington cookbook author.