My baking has gone to the dogs...

That's right- I can't stop making home made goodies for my puppy! I like this version for the Brewers Yeast. It keeps your dogs coat nice, shiny and healthy!

Plain Dog Biscuits
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup wheat germ
1/4 cup brewers yeast
1 1/2 tablespoons canola oil
1/2 cup chicken stock (unsalted if possible)

Preheat oven to 400º F. Mix all of the dry ingredients, then mix in the liquids slowly. Roll dough out on floured surface and cut some fun doggie shapes out with cookie cutters. If you want- this is where I added the dogs names to the bones with letters intended for cement stepping stones. Transfer the biscuits onto a parchment or Silpat lined cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes and then brush the tops with chicken stock. Rotate and bake for another 10 minutes. Turn the oven off. I then take the biscuits out and coat any remaining visible flour with chicken stock and place back in the oven once again. The oven should remain off, but leave the biscuits in there until there are completely dry- about 2 hrs. Store in airtight container for up to 2 weeks. Enjoy!

Does your dog like Frosty Paws?

I know mine sure does! But then I started reading the ingredients and I wasn't too happy...

FROSTY PAWS® Frozen Treats for Dogs with Peanut Butter Nutritional Information Ingredients: WATER, DRIED WHEY, SOY FLOUR, ANIMAL FAT (PRESERVED WITH BHA AND BHT), DRIED WHEY PROTEIN CONCENTRATE, VEGETABLE FAT, SOY LECITHIN, PEANUT BUTTER SYRUP (PEANUTS, CORN OIL, SALT), MICROCRYSTALLINE CELLULOSE, MONO-DIGLYCERIDES, CARBOXYMETHYLCELLULOSE, POLYSORBATE 80, POLYSORBATE 60, CALCIUM CARBONATE, NATURAL FLAVOR, CHOLINE CHLORIDE, FERROUS SULFATE, ZINC SULFATE, MANGANESE SULFATE, MAGNESIUM OXIDE, SILICON DIOXIDE, VITAMIN A SUPPLEMENT, VITAMIN E SUPPLEMENT, NIACIN SUPPLEMENT, COPPER SULFATE, CALCIUM PANTOTHENATE, RIBOFLAVIN SUPPLEMENT, POTASSIUM IODIDE, THIAMINE MONONITRATE, VITAMIN D3 SUPPLEMENT, VITAMIN B12 SUPPLEMENT, FOLIC ACID.

Animal fat- this could be any kind of animal including "4D's- dead, diseased, disabled, or dying prior to slaughter"....Eww! Corn and salt? Also bad.

So they are not that bad, because they wouldn't be on the shelf- but if you like to look at ingredients on your dogs food, why not their treats? Lets go for a much healthier, fresher alternative. They're so easy to make, I don't know why you'd ever buy them again!

#1 rule for all ingredients in my home made dog treats:  
Organic, Unsweetened and Unsalted.
Salt and sugar are BAD for the pups.


HOMEMADE FROSTY PAWS

32oz. Plain Yogurt - (spurge for organic if you can!)
2 Tablespoons Peanut Butter
2 Tablespoons Honey
1 ripe Banana

Throw all ingredients in a blender. Pour into 6, flare rimmed, 9oz cups. Freeze & serve!

 As Sophie starts working on her treat, and it melts a little, I pop the remaining treat out and throw it in her bowl.  She LOVES them. I haven't had any trouble with the plastic cups yet :)

 

Sophie APPROVED! 

Toffee Cupcakes

I did a little experimenting this week. I decided it was time to try and conquer Toffee. Sugar arts are hard to perfect since they require such exact temperatures and humidity levels. I had my trials with lollipops and other hard candies earlier this year. Toffee was no different. The first batch burnt. Yuck, smokey toffee? No thanks. I lowered the temp a bit for the second batch, and for the third I will go somewhere in between. I decided to make some vanilla cupcakes with chocolate buttercream to showcase the toffee flavor. Yum!

Baker's trick: I use a Silpat almost exclusively when making cookies, meringue, macaroons, hard candies and now toffee. I don't know how it works, but it works beyond any of my greatest expectations. Nothing EVER sticks to it. Everything removes with ease and without any additive. I wasn't paid for this- I'm just a HUGE supporter! :)

Chocolate Cupcakes with Toffee Crunch
Cake - Classic Vanilla White Cake
Icing - Chocolate Buttercream

Blueberry Muffins

I've relocated to Houston in these last few months and I've finally started exploring the area. One of my favorite websites this time of year is pickyourown.org. It's an amazing resource to find farms that let you pick you veggies and fruit fresh off the farm! They even have great tips on picking, storage and how to preserve your finds. This venture we headed to Chmielewski’s Blueberry Farm. They follow organic methods and had acres of different blueberries. Blueberry picking takes some time, as you should only pick blueberries that are very ripe. They can be identified by being the darkest berries on the branch, almost falling off the branch when touched (you should never have to pull) and by having a white-ish haze to the coat, and no red remaining.
 
 When all was said and done, my husband and I spent over an hour picking and came up with 3.5 lbs. of fresh blueberries...

 

As you can see- we weren't expert pickers. Lots of red in there. I ended up freezing the  unripened blueberries as a nice summer snack for my puppy.

I went on the hunt for a great recipe- and then I altered it a bit. 

 

 

AMAZING Fresh Blueberry Muffins!

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon popcorn salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup organic milk (I almost always use skim)
• 2 cups fresh blueberries
• Topping:
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup butter, cubed
• 1 3/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease muffin cups or line with muffin liners.
2. Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, 3/4 cup sugar, salt and baking powder. Mix in vegetable oil, egg and milk. (If it seems really thick, add a little more milk) Mix this with flour mixture. Fold in blueberries. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full, and sprinkle/cover top with crumb topping mixture.
3. To Make Crumb Topping: Mix together 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, 1/4 cup butter, and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon. Mix with fork, and sprinkle over muffins before baking.
4. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until done. I take a bamboo skewer, push in, and as soon as it come out clean, I immediately remove from oven & pan. (If you leave them in the pan, they keep cooking!)

Recipe makes 12 muffins.

Yummy!!!!