It's a dog-eat-cookie world

I confess. I'm one of those really annoying people that babies my pets.

I pick them up and snuggle them. I let them sleep on the beds. I even bake them "cookies." Yeah, I'm afraid I'm that annoying. I don't call them dog treats, I call them "cookies." I bake the dog cookies fresh every week or so, flavoring them with whatever we have on hand that the dogs like - like bits of bacon and parmesan cheese. Or peanut butter. It's really not very difficult, and I usually pop a sheet of treats in the oven whenever I have something else baking, so it's not too inefficient, energy-wise. I used to buy treats from the store, but after the melamine pet food scare we switched to a US made dog and cat food, and I switched to baking pet treats at home instead of buying them.

The funny thing is, I used to be of the opinion that people who treated their dogs like small furry children were a few bricks shy upstairs. Now I'm doing it. I guess it's possible that I am now a few bricks shy, but I also think that maybe I have come to understand what it's like to be middle-aged with grown children who are living their own lives, and who don't really need coddling anymore. After so many years of being an active mom on a daily basis, to suddenly not be needed that way leaves a bit of an empty spot. A spot that three small loving lap dogs fill just fine. And so I get to cuddle and snuggle and bake cookies still, and life is good.

Especially for the dogs.

Here's the dog cookie recipe I baked tonight. I popped a tray of them in the oven right after the Dried Plum Walnut bread came out, so they pretty much used the residual heat from the four loaves of bread I just baked to cook.

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Bacon Parmesan Dog Treats

2 cups whole wheat flour
1/3 -1/2 cup grated, dried parmesan cheese (the kind in the green plastic tubes works good)
one fresh egg, or 2 tbsp dried egg powder
1/3 - 1/2 cup finely minced bacon bits
1/2 cup water, approximately
2 tbsp olive or other liquid oil

Medium mixing bowl
Cookie sheet, non stick or greased
Rolling wheel pizza type cutter

Mix dry ingredients together, then add wet ingredients and mix until it forms a slightly sticky dough that pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Add more water if needed - the ambient humidity and whether you used an egg or egg powder has a lot to do with how much water you will need. Grease your hands with some extra oil, and knead the dough ball briefly in the bowl until it holds together well and glistens.

Plop the dough ball onto the cookie sheet and use your still-oily hands to pat it into a thin rectangle. Use the rolling cutter to score the dough into squares - 3/4 inch on a side for toy dogs, larger for the larger breeds. (Sure, you can use those cute little dog bone cookie cutters, but take my word for it, it's a lot more work...and the dogs frankly don't care.) Pop the cookie sheet into the oven at 375 for about 10 minutes (watch it so it doesn't burn) and then shut the oven off. Let the cookies cool in the oven until they are crisp, then break them apart along the score lines. Store in a jar in the fridge, as the fat in the bacon and the cheese will make them prone to rancidity, especially in warm weather. Makes anywhere from 40-120 cracker-like training treats, depending on how small you cut them. Depending on how frugal you are when shopping for your pantry items, these probably won't cost much more, if any more, than the ready made treats in the store. And there's nothing in the ingredients list that one cannot pronounce.