Greetings! I hope everyone’s been having a fresh and joyous start to 2014. December was a crazy month and I’m sorry I couldn’t do more posting, although there was plenty of baking and pastry activity taking place.
There was a lot of Megan Joy Cakes work and another trip to Aspen:
Right before Christmas I did a high altitude baking class with The Vail Mountain Club.
It was held at one of the member’s beautiful homes and we made apple breton pie, pumpkin cheesecake snickerdoodles, and a hot chocolate torte. It was a lot of fun.
Shortly after, I left to go to Indiana for a week so I could celebrate Christmas with my family. At my grandma Jone’s Christmas Eve dinner, we enjoyed my favorite honey-glazed rolls. They are always a crowd pleaser!
And finally, right after I returned to Colorado, we drove down to Arizona to pick up our newest addition, Abe. He is a Hungarian Vizsla and we are just having the most incredible time with him. It doesn’t hurt that he is absolutely adorable.
Abe’s not a huge fan of the cold yet, so we got him a little coat to wear when we go outside. He looks rather handsome in it.
Puppies are pretty much tiny children, and as we’ve been working with him on his manners I’ve become aware of how important a motivating treat can be. Zack’s mom got me “The Organic Dog Biscuit Cookbook” for Christmas and I decided to dive into it yesterday- which resulted in these cute little pumpkin treats.
Steamed pumpkin (and canned pumpkin, too) is great for dogs because it’s high in potassium and beta carotene, but low in calories. It’s also beneficial to feed to dogs when they need a little help regulating their digestive system.
I had all of these ingredients on hand, and they also happened to all be organic. I’m not saying Abe is on an entirely organic diet (he would be eating better than us if that were the case), but just like with human food, it’s nice to know what’s going into your body or your dog’s body.
The recipe made about 32 small bone shapes, but you could get 3x amount if you roll them in small balls or cut out tiny shapes. Perfect for sharing!
Happy baking!
How to make this high altitude recipe:
Pumpkin Dog Treats
Adapted from The Organic Dog Biscuit Cookbook by Bubba Rose Biscuit Company
- 1 cup oat flour (you can make your own by grinding rolled oats into a powder in your food processor)
- 1 cup brown rice flour
- 1 cup canned pumpkin (or fresh pureed pumpkin)
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 egg
- ⅓ cup water (more if needed)
- Preheat your oven to 350 F.
- Combine all the ingredients together and mix until a dough forms.If your dough is still dry, add a little more water so it holds its shape.
- Roll into small balls (about 1" in diameter) or pat the dough to a desired thickness on a piece of parchment paper, and cut out desired shapes.
- Use a small offset spatula or knife to transfer them to a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- They can be close together since they don't spread while baking.
- Bake for 20 minutes for soft biscuits, and about 30 for a crunchy biscuit.
- Remove from the oven and let cool completely on a wire rack.
- Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
- Makes a lot of treats, this recipe yielded about 32 small bone shapes.
This recipe was adapted for high altitude baking. To make at sea level, the baking time may vary slightly.
