Cheese & Bacon Dog Treats for the International Incident Colors Party

 

I briefly considered skipping this month's International Incident Party, hosted as always by our lovely foundress, the effervescent Penny aka Jeroxie. The theme, colors for the festive season, (whatever holiday you happen to celebrate) was simply not resonating with me, to say the least.

Regular readers will recall that my amazing dog Pete passed away on November 28th, and things haven't exactly been right in the Trix household ever since. Poppa Trix and I have not busted out the tree or the sparkly Hanukkah tinsel or the Father Christmases, and we haven't played the Charlie Brown Christmas record (yes, a real record!) that Poppa Trix got me two years ago, not even once.

But I'm not here to be a downer or rain on everyone's fun and colorful parade.  So instead, rather than miss the last Incident of the year, I decided to make something that would bring joy to some friends'  dogs: homemade cheese and bacon treats.

Pete would definitely approve. After all, he was obsessed with cheese, and would trot expectantly into the kitchen if anyone so much as opened the cheese drawer.

The color - beige - may not initially strike you as festive, but in its simplicity and purity I think it symbolizes the essence of a dog's heart. And in a literal sense, it's kind of the color of Pete.

So I hope you'll make these for the special dog in your life. Even if, like me, you don't have one of your own, it's a fun gift for a friend or family member's pooch. I can tell you that they were the cause of much nose twitching, butt wiggling,  and tail wagging among my canine recipients! And as it turns out, cats seem to quite like them as well. My spookily intelligent and consistently hilarious rescue Siamese, The Count, (who you may recall from the Great Butter Caper) kept me on my toes as I tried to photograph them:

Lurking ... reaching ... grabbing

 Yes ... and???

I got the Bubba Rose Biscuit Company's Organic Dog Biscuit Cookbook Kit  in preparation:

The fire hydrant cutter made the biscuits look like deformed trees, so I stuck with the bone and the squirrel:

 I didn't end up following a recipe from the book, though I did research to make sure that none of my ingredients would harm a dog. Except for the bacon grease - hey, they're called treats for a reason - they're all pretty healthy (in moderation):

You'll need:

1 cup organic brown rice flour

2 1/4 cups organic whole wheat flour

2 Tbsp bacon grease 

1 heaping cup grated cheddar cheese 

1 egg, beaten

1 cup water

flour for dusting

Combine the flours, and cut in the bacon grease to coat. Add the cheese, the egg and the water and knead until the dough is pliable, but not too sticky. If it's not coming together, add more wheat flour. Roll out on a lightly dusted surface to a 1/4 inch thickness. Cut into the desired shapes and transfer to a lightly greased cookie sheet. Unlike with pie or biscuit dough, you can keep re-rolling without worrying about the dough getting tough. I mean - these treats are for dogs. And they've got bacon and cheese. They won't notice, I promise. 

Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes, or until the biscuits firm up. You may want to check about halfway through the baking to make sure the bottoms aren't burning. 

In case you're wondering - yes, I did taste them, and yes, they're pretty good. If I were making them for myself, I'd add salt. Anyway - the doggies may not notice how cute these biscuits are, but I couldn't help it:

Thanks for stopping by for the last Incident of the year. Dont worry, we'll be back next year! In the meantime, please go see what everyone else brought to the party: