Our little dog Sam had been eating our crunchy homemade dog treats since he got his permanent teeth as a puppy. Unfortunately, a few years ago he had to have a significant amount of his teeth pulled and he could no longer chew crunchy food or treats. We wanted him to still enjoy his treat times so we worked on a recipe that would work for him. This recipe is simple and easy to make with ingredients found in your grocery store. Because these treats are not thoroughly dried out like our crunchy treats, they must be refrigerated. We make a batch every 2 months or so, putting the majority in the freezer and just taking a few out to keep in the refrigerator at a time. This works well and we rarely have any go bad. I would say, shoot for an amount you can use up within a week. Variations for this recipe are in the recipe notes below.
Soft Dog Treats
(Yield: approximately 35)
Equipment: Rolling pin, 13" x 18" cookie sheet, mixing bowl, cookie cutter, silicone baking mat or parchment paper, bench scraper.
Ingredients:
¾ cup milk
2 large eggs
1 Tbs. olive oil
½ can (15 oz.) 100% pure pumpkin puree (approximately 1 cup)
1 cup old fashion rolled oats
3 cups whole wheat flour
Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
1. Line cookie sheet with silicone mat or parchment paper.
2. In mixing bowl, whisk milk and eggs together.
3. Add remaining ingredients to mixing bowl and stir until blended.
4. Turn dough out onto a well-floured surface and knead briefly (adding a little more flour if needed – a few tablespoons at most) just until the dough comes together but is still sticky. Resist the urge to incorporate more flour into the dough, it needs to stay somewhat wet and sticky.
5. Add more flour to your surface, flatten out the dough, and add some flour to the top to help with rolling. Roll dough out to approximately ¼ - ½ inch thickness using your rolling pin.
6. Cut out desired shapes with your cookie cutter and arrange on cookie sheet.
7. Repeat #5 & #6 until the dough is all gone.
8. Bake treats for 25 minutes.
9. Remove from oven and leave on cookie sheet until completely cool. Pack treats up into a gallon-sized freezer bag and store in freezer.
NOTES: 1. Freeze the other half of your pumpkin puree for making another batch of treats when you need them. We use Rubbermaid one cup storage containers to keep the pumpkin fresh in the freezer.
2. Treats will last for up to 3 months in the freezer, and approximately 1 week in the refrigerator. We keep a week's worth of treats in the refrigerator and then restock from the freezer as needed.
3. One small, grated carrot can be added to the recipe with no other adjustments needed.
4. One cup of salt-free beef, chicken, or turkey broth can be substituted for the pumpkin puree to create flavor variations for your dog. Our dogs love them all!
Our crunchy homemade dog treats recipes:
Crunchy Homemade Peanut Butter and Banana Dog Treats Recipe
Crunchy Homemade Chicken and Vegetable Dog Treats Recipe
Homemade Carob Chip Cookies Dog Treat Recipe
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