Special treats for Sasha

Today we are taking a break from cookies for humans to discuss cookies for our furry family members.

I have a very old Husky. She was a rescue who first resided with my daughter and then became my dog. Sasha has always been finicky, but in her old age she has become very choosey as to what she will consume — though she does on occasion still enjoy a nibble or two of the gross whatnots she finds outside.

Although Sasha has a very discerning palate, she has rarely turned down a treat until I got her a box of peanut butter and banana dog treats from Trader Joe’s. She loved those treats and then we ran out. My husband picked up a box of Milk-Bone biscuits. Sasha used to love Milk-Bone biscuits until she ate the treats from Trader Joe’s. Now she turns her nose up to Milk-Bone. We tried other treats – Sasha remained uninterested.

A trip to Nashville was not a possibility at that moment, so I turned to the internet for help and typed “peanut butter, banana dog treat recipe” into Google. The internet is rife with recipes for various homemade treats for dogs, but the recipe on the “Damn Delicious” blog caught my attention. The recipe called for four ingredients – all of which I had on hand – and it appeared to be simple to make.

The recipe calls for old fashioned oats. To mimic the Trader Joe’s treats I ground the oatmeal into oat flour in my super fancy, recently purchased, Ninja Chef blender on the flour-mill setting. In less than a minute this machine pulverized 3 cups of oats – it was amazing.

I added mashed beyond-their-prime bananas, melted coconut oil and peanut butter to the oat flour. I then mixed with a wooden spoon and kneaded a little. The dough is simple to make and you can cut it into any shapes you want – my daughter loaned me a bone-shaped cutter.

The finished treats were a hit with Sasha.

Now every two or three weeks, I am baking treats for my dog and that is OK with me. Sasha proves to me every day that life is too short to eat things you do not like.

A word of CAUTION: Read the ingredient label of your peanut butter before feeding it to your dog. Some peanut butters contain xylitol that is poisonous to dogs.

PEANUT BUTTER BANANA DOG TREATS

adapted from https://damndelicious.net/2016/01/25/peanut-butter-banana-dog-treats/

3 cups old fashioned oats ground into a flour

2 ripe bananas, mashed

1/4 cup (NO-xylitol) peanut butter

1/4 cup coconut oil, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat; set aside.

In a large bowl, combine ground oats, bananas, peanut butter and coconut oil. Mix well and then knead.

Roll to 1/4-inch thickness and cut to desired shape.

Place treats on a cookie sheet. The treats will not spread so you can place them close together. With the tines of a fork, dock the dough.

Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown and hard.

Cool completely and store in an airtight container.

Are there any special treats you make for your pet? DM us on Instagram @itswhateverblog, email us at itswhateverblog@outlook.com, or post to our Facebook page at http://bit.ly/amyandmariaFB.

Happy baking,

Maria