I bake these often. And we don’t even have a dog. We do have a son, though, who loves them; honestly, the whole family enjoys these bones with soups and salads, and on their own – they are very munchable. If you are hesitant to offer the biscuits to guests thinking they might accuse you in serving them dog food, just shape the biscuits differently (but I think they are kind of cute the way they are).
I’m so done with festive sweets for a while (oh, these holidays)… Now I crave dog food.
Adapted from the “Gourmet” magazine.
Makes about three and a half dozens of 3-inch cookies
Ingredients:
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/4 cups whole-wheat flour
- 1 1/4 cups cornmeal (I use fine stone ground cornmeal)
- 1 1/4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats (quick cooking oats work just fine)
- 1/2 cup toasted wheat germ
- 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- Freshly coarsely ground black pepper (not for dogs, perhaps)
- 1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) cold unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon pieces
- 1 cup cold water
- 1/2 cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
- 1/2 cup finely chopped fresh mint leaves
- 1 large egg + 1 tbsp water for egg wash
Preparation:
Pulse the flours, cornmeal, oats, wheat germ, brown sugar, baking powder, salt, and pepper in a food processor until combined. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles a coarse meal with pea-size butter lumps. Add 1 cup water and pulse until a coarse, dense dough forms.
Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead in the parsley and mint until well distributed. Gather, then halve the dough with a scraper. Form into 2 balls and flatten each into a 6-inch disk.
Put oven racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
Roll out one disk of the dough into a 1/3-inch thick round on a well-floured surface with a well-floured rolling pin. If the dough becomes too soft to roll out, wrap it in plastic and chill until firm. Cut out as many biscuits as possible and arrange them about ¼- inch apart on one baking sheet.
Gather the scraps and reroll, then cut out more biscuits. Repeat with the remaining dough, using other baking sheet.
Whisk together the egg and 1 tablespoon water. Brush the biscuits with the egg wash and bake, switching position of sheets halfway through, until tops are golden brown, about 30-35 minutes total. Turn off the oven, pop the door ajar with a wooden spoon, and let the biscuits cool in the oven until dry throughout.
The biscuits can be kept, layered between sheets of parchment, in an airtight container at the room temperature for 1 month (but I really can’t see how it’s possible).
