Valentine's Day Treats

  I very much enjoy giving the dogs a little goodie every day, usually after they've had their breakfast.  Most days, it's something ready made--we stocked up when Costco had a sale on all beef treats--but sometimes I do the baking or lately, dehydrating. (more on that in a future post)
  I almost always bake something for an individual dog's birthday, which all get to enjoy and also for Christmas.  I've started collecting recipes, have a couple of treat cookbooks and am now including other holidays for homemade treats.
  Today being Valentine's Day, I was looking for a cookie that I could make heart shaped, preferably with a red hue to it.  I also wanted to include my dog walking clients as recipients and needed an inexpensive recipe that made a large quantity.  I found a recipe in Doggy Desserts by Cheryl Gianfrancesco that pretty much fit the bill.  While the treats didn't come out as red as I had hoped, it was easy enough to use a heart shaped cookie cutter instead of the dog bone shape and not have it affect the baking time or the results.  The Collies loved it!

Red Bones

1/4 cup freeze dried liver (available at pet stores)

1 cup water

1/2 cup all natural tomato juice, no salt added

3 1/2 cups unbleached white flour

1 cup wheat germ

Place freeze-dried liver chunks in a blender, and blend to a powder.  In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients.  Knead the dough on a floured surface.  Roll out the dough to 1/4 thickness, and cut shapes with a dog bone cookie cutter.  Put the cookies on a baking sheet, 1/2 inch apart.  Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes.  When done, the cookies should be firm to the touch.  Turn the oven off, and leave the cookies in for 1 to 2 hours to harden.

 Yield:  Approximately 80 two-inch cookies

The finished treats!

Enough treats to give to my dog walking clients, too!