[Dailydrool] Human and dog cookies (with dog-treat recipe)

[dpmcquade at verizon.net]

It must have been a basset plot.

Yesterday I was baking cookies. Not basset treats, real, human-type cookies, something I don't do very often. Just after I checked on them and decided they needed a couple more minutes, the hounds decided to go out. So I turned off the stove, left the cookies in the oven, and took the hounds out. Well, you know how hounds are when they want to go out. We were more than just a couple of minutes.

I came back to cookies with a definite dog-treat texture--hard and crunchy. Now, I know some folks might like crunchy oatmeal cookies, but I prefer just a touch of softness in the center. And a few of the cookies, which had been closest to one edge of the pan actually burned on the bottom.

I wonder if the Dashing Bassets thought I should be baking for them instead. When I make their treats, I leave them in the oven, to crisp up, afterwards. Maybe they thought these cookies should be theirs?

On another note, which the hounds might appreciate more, I have a new recipe for Dexter, who has been on the Hills i/d diet for a while, to help his tender tummy. We needed some treats to help train him out of his fears, but since he has been on again, off again with his tummy troubles, I hesitated to use many of the commercially made treats.

I grind up a cup of the kibble in my food processor, until it's just about like flour. Then I bake a medium-sized sweet potato in the microwave until it's tender, and mix it with the kibble flour, adding a quarter cup of water to make it softer. You end up with a slightly soft dough that is perfect for dog treats. Roll it into balls, flatten them with a fork the way you'd do for human peanut butter cookies, and bake at 325 for 35 minutes or so. They are done when they are slightly brown on the bottom. Leave them in the oven until they are thoroughly cooled--I leave them about six hours or overnight. Perfect dog treats for a pup on a special diet.
 
I know that amount of sweet potato sounds like a lot, since a medium sweet potato is pretty large, but it worked perfectly. Thankfully, Horton has no problem eating sweet potatoes!
Pam, food slave and cookie maker to the Dashing Bassets