Butternut Squash Dog Treats

February 23rd is International Dog Biscuit Appreciation Day. Make some of our butternut squash dog treats and celebrate today with your dog!

February 23rd is International Dog Biscuit Appreciation Day. Apparently, today is the day to celebrate dog biscuits and I’m cooking up a batch of butternut squash dog treats for my furry friends! I haven’t made dog biscuits in years, so I was long overdue to make a homemade snack for my fur-kids. I had some leftover butternut squash to use up, so I used that, but you can easily swap in cooked sweet potato or canned pumpkin, as long as it not pumpkin pie filling.

These biscuits have a very subtle peanut butter flavor, and are crispy on the outside, yet chewy on the inside. How do I know this? Because I tried one of course! (In case you’re curious, my English Setters, Birdy and Libby, happily inhaled four of them as soon as they were cooled.)

BUTTERNUT SQUASH DOG TREATS

Ingredients:

• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup cooking oats
• 1/2 cup wheat germ
• 2 eggs, lightly whisked
• 1 cup squash, cooked & pureed
• 1/4 cup peanut butter
• 1/4 cup water (if dough is very dry, you can add another 1/8 cup)

Directions:

Step 1: Preheat oven to 350F. Cover two baking sheets with tinfoil and spray with cooking spray.

Step 2: In a large bowl, add flour, oats and wheat germ; mix.

Step 3: In a separate bowl, combine eggs, squash, peanut butter, and water.

Step 4: Make a well in the flour mixture, and pour wet ingredients into it. Mix thoroughly. If dough is too dry, add the extra water.

Step 5: Flour the rolling surface, and place dough onto board. Place a piece of wax paper over the entire surface area of the dough; roll over the wax paper to flatten out the dough to 1/2-inch thickness. (I’m terrible with a rolling pin, so this will prevent the dough from sticking to the rolling pin!)

Step 6: Use a pizza cutter to cut strips of dough and place in rows on cookie sheets. (If you have cookie cutters, feel free to cut out pretty shapes!)

Step 7: Bake in oven for 25 minutes. Leave on baking sheets to cool for 5 minutes, and then remove to a wire rack to continue cooling. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.  

Baker’s Note: I’ve read elsewhere that if you want hard dog biscuits, you should leave the baking sheet, cookies and all, in the oven, after you’ve turned it off, to harden overnight. I’ve never tried this, but if you do, please let me know how it goes!

Happy Reading,

Denine

Side Note: Like my dogs? They’re rescue dogs from a truly amazing non-profit organization, Another Chance For English Setters. Birdy is a tri-colored, English Setter mix; Libby is a liver-colored, pure-bred English Setter. To find out more about English Setters, click here.

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