|
GINGER HEARTSNo being on earth is more capable of expressing unconditional love than a dog. When it’s time to return some of that adoration, there’s no better delivery system than a homemade cookie. The heart shapes are purely for our pleas-ure, of course, but they do make an adorable package when wrapped in tissue or cellophane. If you want to fancy them up, you can spread them with low-fat cream cheese or all-natural peanut butter and make sandwich cookies. Ginger has long been touted for its ability to ease upset stomachs; if your dog falls into the weak-of-stomach category, these might be a solution. Brown rice flour is easy on the digestive system and can be easily substituted for the wheat flour. Expect a crumblier cookie if you go this route. If you use fresh ginger, add it to the yogourt-egg mixture; if you use powdered, add it along with the dry ingredients. If you don’t have a heart-shaped cookie cutter, use the rim of an empty tomato paste can, or cut the dough into easy shapes, like squares, triangles, diamonds or strips, using a pizza cutter or knife.
DIRECTIONS1. Preheat oven to 350°F.2. In a large bowl, combine the flour, oat bran, oats, ginger (if using powdered) and cinnamon. In a small bowl, stir together the yogourt, milk or water, egg, ginger (if using fresh grated) and honey or molasses. 3. Add the wet ingredients to the flour mixture and stir until well blended. On a well-floured surface, knead the dough a few times, then roll out about a quarter inch thick and cut into hearts or other shapes. 4. Transfer to a cookie sheet that has been sprayed with non-stick spray and, if you like, poke a line of decorative holes about a quarter inch from the edge using the tines of a fork. 5. Bake for 12-15 minutes, until golden and firm. Let them cool on the cookie sheet, or turn the oven off and leave them inside for several hours to harden as they cool. Once they have cooled completely, spread the undersides of half the cookies with cream cheese or peanut butter and sandwich with another cookie. Store in a tightly sealed container at room temperature if they’re plain, or in the fridge if they’re sandwiched. Julie Van Rosendaal is the author of One Smart Cookie and In the Dog Kitchen, the food and nutrition columnist on Calgary Eyeopener on CBC Radio One and co-host of It’s Just Food on Canadian Learning Television.
Photo by Julie Van Rosendaal |
|
FEATURED RECIPE: Bacon Biscotti
If you really want to score some biscotti points with your dog, bacon will have him doing backflips.
|
