Hoping to send some homemade treats to our brave canine heroes serving with our military overseas, Camano Island reader Dr. Patricia Bloom asked for suggestions on how to lengthen the shelf life of dog biscuits so they’d arrive at their far-flung destinations in good, safe-to-eat shape.
The recipe she had been using, she told us, was made with all fresh ingredients and the biscuits were only “good” for about a week.
Responding to this request, Everett biscuit baker Betty Blalock writes, “I hope this recipe will help Dr. Bloom. I made these dog treats several years ago for my dog and at Christmastime for dog gifts.”
Just so you know, this recipe makes 2 dozen 31/2-inch biscuits and, once baked and dried, they’ll keep up to three months stored at room temperature.
Happy trail dog biscuits
11/2cups all-purpose flour
11/2cups whole-wheat flour
1cup rye flour
1cup old-fashioned oats
1cup cornmeal
1/4cup liver powder (available at health food stores)
1teaspoon salt
1egg
1/2cup vegetable oil
About 13/4 cups beef broth
Place oven rack in upper third of oven. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with foil.
In a large bowl, mix together the flours, oats, cornmeal, liver powder and salt. Add egg, oil and broth and mix with a wooden spoon to make a soft dough. Dough should be soft, but firm enough to roll out. If dough is too moist, add a little flour; if too dry, add a little more broth or water.
On floured surface, roll dough to 1/2-inch thickness. Cut in 31/2-inch dog-bone biscuit shapes with floured cutter. (You can use other cutters, if necessary or if desired, or simply cut the dough into squares or circles.)
Place biscuits on foil-lined cookie sheet. Reroll scraps, cut into biscuits or other shapes and place on cookie sheet. With a skewer, prick a line of dots down the center of each biscuit. Bake 2 hours, then turn off oven and let biscuits stand in oven overnight to dry and harden.
Can be stored in plastic bags at room temperature up to 3 months.
Makes 24 31/2-inch biscuits.
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