More Baking ... Vegetarian Dog Treats

So, I decided I wasn't quite finished baking tonight.  OK, I didn't have the energy to make a stir fry for myself for dinner, but I did have the energy to bake 3½ dozen doggie cookies for the girls.  

Yesterday, I ran out of dog food and gave the girls some garbanzo beans (they LOVED them), but then had a moment where I wondered if garbanzo beans were safe for dogs, so I went looking on the Internet.  Yes, garbanzo beans are safe for dogs, so next time I make them some rice as a supplement to their dry food, I'll throw in some garbanzo beans. :)  I actually like making different rice variations for the girls as a healthy, non-processed alternative to the dog food I normally buy.  Although, I do buy a brand that has no additives or preservatives, which is great!  

In the process, I found a recipe for dog cookies with banana, peanut butter, oatmeal, and parsley.  I found the recipe at the website for Whole Food Markets.  Here is the link:  Homemade Peanut Butter and Banana Dog Treats.

I had a couple of ripe bananas waiting to be used, so I thought what the heck? The cookies were fairly easy to make.  One substitution I made was I couldn't find oat flour at the store I went to, so I just picked up brown rice flour instead.  It worked well and the cookies look like the ones in the recipe photo.  No telling what it did to the taste, though.  I was a bit surprised that they had to bake for 40 minutes.  I made a double batch, but I'm sure some of my cookies were bigger than they should have been because I didn't get a full 4 dozen, but rather 3½ dozen.  The recipe states to store them in the fridge or freeze them.  Since I have 3 dogs (2 big, 1 little), I'm sure I won't have to worry about the cookies going bad.

I probably won't be making these every week, but it's a nice alternative to use up ripe bananas before they go bad. Plus, it's one of the few snacks that I will be giving my dogs that I know are wholesome, without preservatives or additives, are freshly made, and are healthy for them to eat.  All three of my dogs LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the cookies!