Week 8: Bake for a friend (without eating any!)

Every week in 2011, for 52-straight weeks, I hope to try something new and blog about it here. This is the eighth post in the series when I tackle baking for a friend (and not myself). Here you will find a list of all my weekly adventures thus far.

It's been a really, really long time since I've baked anything a friend. I don't actually know if I've even solely baked for friends before. Usually I selfishly get a craving for baked goodies, slave away in the kitchen and then once I've realized I made way too many to consume alone, I'll give half away. Or maybe like 10 percent away...

This week, I changed that. I baked cookies solely for a special friend. And it was super simple, in fact I baked with only six ingredients:

You'll notice I finished off the last of my home made peanut butter. Don't worry, I can always make more ;)

And oh yeah, I guess I should show you a picture of my friend...

That's right. I've never EVER in my life made dog treats before this week! What a week to do so, since Feb. 21 was Woodstock's one year anniversary with us :) I didn't really recognize his birthday on Dec. 28, so I figured this was the second-best time to do something special for my pooch (who am I kidding, I spoil the heck of out that little brat, see below).

As I said earlier, it's super easy to make your own dog treats. I've been reading up a lot on pet health and what exactly goes into pet foods and have actually revamped his diet -- gradually, of course, so he doesn't get sick. His food is all natural and contains no wheat or corn fillers. The first ingredient in dog food should be meat (not meat by-products). As for treats, that's a little different. These ones do have whole wheat flour and oats and flax. I know exactly what went into the dog biscuits. In all, it was fairly cheap to make and would save lots of money over time making at home than buying at pet stores.

Ingredients:

• 1 egg
• 1/3 c peanut butter
• 1 mashed banana
• 1 T honey
• 1 c whole wheat flour
• 1/2 c oatmeal or flax meal (I used a combination of the two)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 300° and lightly grease a cookie sheet. Sir the egg, peanut butter, banana and honey in a small mixing bowl. Once combined, stir in dry ingredients. Place dough on heavily floured surface (the peanut butter and honey make the dough VERY sticky) to knead and roll into a thin sheet. Cut out desired shapes. Bake about 30 minutes or until browning occurs on the sides. Set out to cool before showering your dog with love!

This project became even MORE fun when I not only discovered a doggy bone, but also a dachshund cookie cutter! I will admit though, for a 12-lb. dog, it's best to snap these in half and give him parts at a time. Woodstock absolutely LOVES them. To the point of hoarding the biscuits when I give them to him. He runs and hides either in his crate or under my bed to eat! The little guy begs at my heels more than ever, now that I've baked him special treats. I've created a monster.

Now... bring on the puppy pictures (from one year ago)!!!!