I have/had a friend that used to make dog treats. I loved giving my “kids” home made treats and supporting a good friend!

In the last year she gave up the business and i’ve considered making some treat for the pups and possibly as gifts for friends and family at christmas.

Last week i was perusing a Rachel Ray magazine (anyone get me this for xmas? cause it just started arriving and was wondering how!) and stumbled onto the last page where she had a recipe for dog treats. It was pretty easy, minimal ingredient and figured i’d give it a try.

The original recipe called for dried cherries, but those sounded expensive and i knew i had dried cranberries as home. So i checked on-line that this fruit wouldn’t kill them and went to town with the recipe!

Puppy Love – Cranberry Crunchies

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup dry milk powder
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries – chopped
• 1 egg – beaten
• 2/3 cup to 1 cup water

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350. In a large bowl, stir together all the ingredients and 2/3 cup water, adding more water as needed if the dough is too stuff (i’d us my kitchenaid mixer next time, stiring with a spoon is a pain!)

2. On a slightly floured work surface, roll out the dough 1/4 inch thick. (using my fancy rolling pin that had the measured discs to ensure correct thickness!) Using a 1-inch cookie cutter (i use tiny ones, since i have tiny guys) cut out the dough and transfer to a greased cookie sheet (i use a silpat and they just slid right off!). Gather and combine all the scraps, roll and form more cookies; repeat until all of the dough is used. Bake until crisp  25-30 minutes (even 30 minutes wasn’t crisp at Denver altitude, might cook longer or roll thinner next time) Transfer to a rack to cool

This was a super fun time! Took very little time – maybe an hour total and i’m sure i had way more than 25 cookies ! I’ve got 2 sour cream containers, and 1 frosting container full of teats for the boys.

Again, they were a good thickness but not “crisp” – alas there is no humidity in Denver, so maybe at sea level it might crisp up a bit better!