Puppies Like Holiday Cookies Too! I Give You: Plumpkins

Now that the holidays are truly in full swing, I have lots of fun, seasonal treats to share with you, but before I get into that, I have something for our furry babies today (and just in time for Cookie Week too)! You may remember, just before Thanksgiving, I talked about my pooch, Loki’s, birthday and a puppy cookie book that I got for him. Well, I made him cookies for his birthday, and after making them, I have to say, if you don’t have this book, you should get it!

I chose to make the cookies they called “Plumpkins” in the book. In their words, they’re “pumpkin cookies dropped from heaven.” They seemed perfect for the season, and super easy (which they were). You just throw all of the ingredients in a bowl, mix ’em up, and drop the batter onto baking sheets (I recommend lining the sheets with Silpat mats or parchment). I made mine on the small side (about one teaspoon of batter per cookie), since the Lokmeister is a small 15 pounds. The only thing about these, silly as it is, is how they look…

Seriously, don’t they look like McDonald’s chicken nuggets? I laugh every time I look at them, because they really do…it’s not just the lighting or something in that photo. Regardless of how little they look like cookies, Loki went mad for them! After the first one (no exaggeration), he was doing his whole repertoire of tricks for one…without being told! That’s gotta be good, right?

Now I have a confession…I tried them. And why not? They’re made with “people food.” Honestly, they weren’t bad at all. Dense, obviously, and on the bland side, but I could imagine how delicious they’d (for people) be with a touch of leavener for rise and some sugar to sweeten them up! Oh! And some chocolate chips!! In fact, I’ll probably be making a people version soon, since they only used half the pumpkin in the can!

Originally, I had planned to add a little extra flour to these and roll them out, so I could use the cutie cutters that came with the book, but it turned out to be a very, very sticky dough. I would have had to add quite a lot of extra flour, and seeing as how they’re special flours that are pretty difficult to get ahold of here, I opted to make them as-is, but I did flatten the first two batches down a bit. I think they ended up baking a little nicer than the ones I didn’t flatten, which stayed soft inside.

I baked these twice as long as recommended, and they were still slightly soft, so they’ll need to be refrigerated, but they don’t take up a lot of room. If you make your cookies bigger, be sure to adjust baking times accordingly. At the size I made, I got about four and a half dozen cookies…so…a lot.

Kinda great, though, that the yield was so high, because they were incredibly inexpensive to make. Based on Loki’s reaction, the effort needed to make these, and the cost involved, I really don’t think I’ll ever be buying dog treats again. In fact, this Christmas, I’ll be exchanging puppy cookies, along with people cookies, for all of my dog loving friends! If you make these for your furry babies, they will most definitely enjoy!

Plumpkin Puppy Cookies
Yield varies on size, but makes about 4 dozen small cookies

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups brown rice flour
1 1/2 cups oat flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1 egg
3 tablespoons applesauce
3/4 cup pumpkin puree (canned or fresh)
1/2 cup water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with Silpat mats or parchment paper.

In a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients and mix until thoroughly combined. Drop spoonfuls of batter onto prepared sheets, flattening if desired (they won’t spread or rise, so spacing isn’t an issue). Bake for 25-30 minutes for a softer cookie, or about 45 minutes for a harder cookie. Allow to cool completely before sharing. Place in an airtight container for storage.

Recipe adapted from The Organic Dog Biscuit Cookbook Kit