BBQ Beef Bones

July 7, 2010

Summertime is the time for weekend cookouts and picnics. Why not let your four-legged friends partake in the paw-lickin' fun? PupDog Bakery in Illinois Amish Country has a great recipe to try.

Ingredients:
- 3 cups 100% whole-wheat flour - medium or fine grind. (For dogs with wheat allergies, you can substitute oat, rice, or potato flour at about 2 1/4 cups)
- 3/4 cup beef broth (low-sodium, no msg)
- 1/3 cup non-fat powdered milk (optional)
- 1/3 cup shortening, or 1/4 cup canola oil
- 1 egg
- 8 oz can of organic, low-sodium tomato sauce
- 2-3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/2 teaspoon blackstrap molasses (you can use regular baking molasses, but blackstrap has significantly higher calcium and iron)

Directions:
1) Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2) Combine all dry ingredients.
3) Add the shortening or oil to the dry ingredients and mix well.
4) In a separate bowl, add egg to the broth, and beat by hand until smooth.
5) Pour the wet mixture into the dry, and mix by hand. Combine all the dry ingredients until a ball of dough is formed. If it seems too dry, add water (one teaspoon at a time) until dough pulls away easily from the sides of the bowl and your fingers. If the ball is very sticky, then its too wet, and you may add a little more flour (one teaspoon at a time) until desired.
6) Roll the dough to about 1/4 inch thick, and cut using a bone-shaped cookie cutter.
7) Lightly spray or grease a cookie sheet; cookies may be placed close together. Bake approximately 15 - 20 minutes or until brown on bottom. Remove from the oven, and let cookies cool.
8) To make the sweet and savory BBQ sauce, add 1/2 teaspoon of molasses to the entire can of tomato sauce and mix well. The molasses will give the sauce a delicious-looking brown color.
9) Lightly brush cooled cookies with the sauce, then sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
10) Bake the treats at 350 degrees for 10 - 12 minutes, or until the edges of the bones begin to darken slightly. Let the treats cool overnight.

Alternate Version:
For BBQ Drumsticks, use chicken broth instead of beef broth, and cut into drumstick shapes. You can also use vegetable broth for a meatless treat.

This recipe makes about a pound of treats.