Liver Cookies Dog Treats

Good morning,

Our family home is a busy one and someone is always in the kitchen making something good to eat.

Our daughter, Catherine, is our guest blogger today with her images and recipe for Liver Cookie Doggie Treats. Sound tasty? Well, our dogs certainly think so!

Just about everything we cook is "lab tested."  Those are the Lab testers pictured above.

Catherine and I both welcome comments. Just click on that comment link at the bottom of this post.

Lois

Liver Cookies Dog Treats

1 20 oz. container chicken livers
garlic
1 24 oz. bag brown rice flour
4 eggs
water

Blend garlic and liver in food processor. Combine flour, eggs, liver mixture. Add water to smooth consistency. Pour onto cookie sheets. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Allow to cool briefly. Cut to bait size. Freeze until ready to use. Makes about 15 cups.

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Ok, first thing, this is smelly recipe. Doesn't really bother me, but I sure hear about it especially from my teenage niece. Love me, love my dog, is my feeling; this may be a true test.

I'm using brown rice flour because we suspect one of the dogs is allergic to wheat. Rice flour costs more, but the consistency is perfect.

I have found using the liver when it's mostly frozen is key. I actually sometimes listen when Mom talks about baking bread, and one of the tricks to get a crunchy crust is throwing ice in the oven. I'd tried that, but when Mom was making frozen drinks for Erica one night, I thought, "Ah ha!", and started throwing ice in the food processor with the liver. This will do if the liver isn't frozen, but sometimes the liver "juice" seeps out of the top of the food processor in the fury of grinding up the ice. Now Mom keeps a separate food processor for the dogs and one for the people. /shrug

This particular batch, I didn't have the patience to wait for a smooshy temperature, so I sliced the mostly frozen livers to fit them in the food processor. I added a scoop of minced garlic. I think the garlic is to make it more palatable for the humans. I'm so used to the smell, I only notice it when I'm walking around Half Price Books after a class, reeking from the bait bag still hanging on my waist. I've had better people reactions to batches with more garlic.

I blended the liver/garlic to a frozen drink consistency. In a large bowl, I combined the bag of rice flour, 4 eggs, the liver/garlic mush. I like to stir by hand, but not over stir. I added water until the mixture was like runny cookie dough. It should not be as runny as cake mix or brownie mix.

Here's another important tip. PARCHMENT PAPER! If you don't like your cookies sheets, don't use the parchment paper. It's conceivably the last time you'll use those cookie sheets. I covered two cookie sheets with parchment paper, and I've weighted the ends with knives.

I poured the batter over the two cookie sheets, removed the knives, then spread the batter out close to the edge of the parchment paper. Not too close, these are Mom's cookie sheets. Christmas present to her from me. Ok, so maybe I mostly use them. Who knew?

I popped the two sheets in the oven at 350 degrees. I set the timer for 10 minutes. At 10 minutes I switched the sheets top to bottom and baked another 10 minutes. Why? Because our oven doesn't heat evenly.

I cooled the two sheets while working on my next project. I used a cutting board and pizza cutter to cut it down to "bait" size, with my two helpers standing by for any dropped cookies. I'll split each cookie again in my hands as I'm working with the dogs. Sometimes I get 6 or 8 treats out of one cookie. The dogs will work just as hard for a pea size treat as a whole hot dog.

I have big dogs, so I use 3 - 4 cup size Ziploc containers to keep the treats in the freezer until I'm ready to use. I train 3 to 4 times a week, and show 1-3 weekends a month, so I keep one handy in the fridge too.

Penny and I are doing well at shows, she's a great dog. I tell people it's not because I'm a good trainer, but because I'm a good baker!

Remember, as with any new food, introduce these cookies in small quantities to your dog. Liver can be loosening.


Catherine

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The Power of Positive Dog Training

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