Monday, December 20, 2010

Christmas Doggie Cookies - Gluten Free!

We love our doggies in this house. They're always great for a laugh or a cuddle or a game of frisbee. They're super excited to see us when we come home. And, they put up with the stupid Christmas sweaters we make them wear.


With all the holiday baking going on lately for us humans, I wanted to make a little treat for my Boston buddies. I love this recipe because it's quick and easy, it's healthy, and it's made with ingredients I typically have on hand. Plus, you don't have to worry if your kid gets ahold of them because they're completely edible. (Yes, I have tried them! Though it is a bit weird when your husband walks in the kitchen to see you munching on a dog cookie - try explaining that one...)


Christmas Doggie Cookies - Gluten Free
Yields approx. 30 cookies

3 cups brown rice flour (may need more or less)
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
1 cup pureed vegetables (sweet potato, pumpkin, carrots, etc., or use two jars of any type of baby food)
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine flour and xanthan gum in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, mix pureed veggies, eggs, and salt together. Slowly add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients a little at a time until the dough comes together (this may take less or more than 3 cups depending on the liquid content of the pureed veggies and the flour you're using). It should be close to normal sugar cookie dough consistency - if you go too far and your dough is too thick or crumbly, add a small amount (1 tablespoon) of water at a time and mix with fingers until the proper consistency is achieved. 

Turn the dough out onto a well-floured surface, and roll the dough out to roughly 1/4 inch thick. Cut with cookie cutters and place onto greased cookie sheets (or sheets lined with parchment paper). If you don't want to make cut-out cookies, you can also roll the dough into balls and flatten with a fork.

Bake at 350 degreed F for approx. 25-35 minutes until lightly browned (can go up to 45 minutes if you want them really crunchy). Store in an air-tight container on the counter for a few days, or in the fridge or freezer for a longer period of time.

Note: When using brown rice flour, the cookies come out looking white just like normal sugar cookies. The dark cookies on the baking sheets in the picture above were made with wild rice flour, though after doing it once I can't say I would recommend it as it was very difficult to roll out. I'm sure you could substitute other flours though if you don't have rice flour. Sorghum would probably work nicely, or any flour blend - I'd love to hear what worked for you!


Because most of our friends and co-workers have dogs too, I wrapped these in Christmas bags and handed them out with my normal Christmas gifts. Everyone really appreciated having their pets included. It took a fight for my dogs to give them up though!

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