Over the last few years, my husband and I have becoming increasingly health conscious with the food we eat. We try not to eat processed food so why should the rest of our family? Of course, I mean George, our mini schnauzer. We always check the ingredients on the boxes of dog treats before we buy them. It’s amazing what some of the major brands include in their products for animals. Now I’m cutting through all the questionable ingredients by baking up some special dog treats for George.
We’re very lucky as far as George is concerned. He’s the sweetest dog I’ve ever met, although I am admittedly a little biased. But he’s always been a great eater. He loves everything. His favorites seem to be chicken and tuna so when I saw a recipe for Buckwheat Salmon & Sweet Potato Dog Treats I knew it was worth trying. It’s also the kind of recipe I like: few ingredients and easy to make.
This recipe also gave me the opportunity to try out my new Oxo foodmill. There was a bit of a learning curve and the spring didn’t always keep the best tension on the blade but it worked pretty well. Next time I’ll make sure whatever I’m trying to mill is softer first and cut it into smaller pieces before trying to mill it.
I think we have a pretty standard food processor. But darned if the thing didn’t overheat trying to process everything in one go. Depending on the size and strength of your food processor, you may need to process the ingredients piecemeal. The final dough is very dense.
My husband, daring as always, ate half of a bone-shaped biscuit and said you could taste the tuna in them but that they weren’t overly fishie. Our test schnauzer seemed to like the biscuits. I got an Eskimo kiss. But then again I was sitting on the floor so I could take photos. Call me crazy, but I choose to interpret that as a thank you.
(Honestly, the hardest part was trying to get a good photo of George sampling the dog treats! He’s more a cuddler than a model.)
This recipe produced for me approximately 90 bone shaped biscuits 1/8″ thick.
Soundtrack: Iggy Pop’s “Lust For Life”
Buckwheat Salmon & Sweet Potato Dog Treats
(adapted from Design*Sponge)
- 3c buckwheat flour
- 15 oz low sodium tuna in water (drained)
- 2 large eggs
- 1c mashed sweet potato
- 3 tbsps chopped parsley
- 1/4c water
- Place all ingredients in a food processor. Blend until fully combined.
- Transfer the mixture to a lidded container. Refrigerate for one hour.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Transfer the mixture to a floured surface. Lightly press a bit of flour into the mixture and onto your hands to prevent sticking.
- Using a rolling pin, roll the mixture until about 1/8″ thick. You may need to turn the dough over several times and add flour to the counter to keep the dough from sticking.
- Cut out shapes in the dough using a cutter
- Place on the prepared cookie sheets and bake for 30 minutes, until the dog treats are hard like a gingersnap. It’s imperative that the treats are completely dry before storage; otherwise, they could go bad.
- Cool completely, then store in an airtight container. Use within several weeks.
