Recipe for Homemade Dog Biscuits:
Crunchy Squirrels

This recipe for homemade dog biscuits will finally allow your dog to catch that pesky squirrel. No more chatter and mockery from you Mr. Squirrel, now you're a healthy dog treat!

Tempting bananas are combined with sweet cinnamon and very nutritious flours. Buckwheat flour is wheat and gluten free. Which sounds funny, since it has the word "wheat" in its name. But, buckwheat is a fruit seed that is safe for wheat, gluten and grain sensitive dogs.

We also added spelt flour to this recipe for homemade dog biscuits. Although spelt is related to wheat, it can be tolerated by some wheat sensitive dogs. If you are concerned about this ancient grain, you can always substitute it for almond flour in this recipe.

You can feel good about giving these dog biscuits to your dog. They have healthy fats, like the extra virgin olive oil. Plus, omega 3 fats and healthy fiber with the ground flax.

All the nutty flavors from the flours and sunflower seeds make this a crunchy, sweet treat your dog will enjoy, almost as much as chasing real squirrels.

Biscuit Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup buckwheat flour
• 1 cup spelt flour
• 2 Tbsp ground flax
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 ripe medium banana
• 2 Tbsp chicken broth
• 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Topping Ingredients: (Optional)

• 1 Tbsp water
• 1 tsp honey
• 2 Tbsp finely chopped raw sunflower seeds

Biscuit Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350° F
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the buckwheat flour, spelt flour, flax and cinnamon.



3. In a small bowl, thoroughly mash the banana.



4. Then stir in the chicken broth and olive oil until combined.



5. Pour the banana mixture into the flour mixture.
6. Stir together until you reach a coarse crumb texture.



7. Next, knead the dough with your hand, in the bowl, until it forms a dough ball.



8. Line your baking sheet with parchment paper.
9. Roll dough to 1/2 inch thickness, between two sheets of parchment paper.



10. Transfer cut outs to baking sheet. Re-roll scraps of dough, until gone.



11. Bake for 10 minutes.
12. Turn off the oven, and leave the treats inside while the oven cools.
13. Once completely cooled, apply the glaze and sunflower seed topping.

Topping Instructions:

1. In a microwave safe bowl, combine the water and honey.
2. Microwave on high for 5 to 10 seconds.
3. Stir together until the honey is completely dissolved.
4. Using a pastry brush, brush the honey glaze on the tail of the squirrel.
5. Press the tail into the finely chopped nuts.
6. Set aside and let the glaze dry before serving to your dog.

Storing - These homemade dog biscuits will stay fresh and delicious in the fridge for up to one month. Keep them fresh even longer in the freezer for up to 6 months. For best results, freeze the biscuits without the topping. Once thawed, you can add the honey glaze and sunflower seed topping.

Yield - Using a 3 inch by 4 inch squirrel cookie cutter, you'll be able to get 9, 1/2 inch thick squirrels. The yield will vary, depending on the size of dog treat cookie cutter you use and how thick you roll the dough.

Tips & Techniques

• Banana Size? - How big is a medium banana? For most recipes, including this one, a medium banana is 7 inches long. Or, for this recipe you will use 1/2 cup of thoroughly mashed banana.
  
  
• Substitutions - If your dog can not have chicken products, you can substitute the broth for beef broth or water. If your dog does not have any wheat, gluten or grain allergies, you can replace the flours in this recipe with 1 1/2 cups of whole wheat flour.
  
  
• Sunflower Seeds - We love the vitamins and minerals that raw sunflower seeds give to our dogs. But, you can substitute another finely chopped, raw or dry roasted, salt free nut or seed as a topping for this homemade dog biscuit. Be sure to not use macadamia nuts or walnuts, they are harmful to our dogs.
  
  
• Parchment Paper - Rolling dog treat dough is so easy with parchment paper. If you don't have it, you will need to dust your counter and rolling pin with buckwheat flour to keep it from sticking. You will also want to spray your baking sheet with non-stick spray before placing the cut outs onto it.
  
  
• Cookie Cutters - There's a quick trick to getting clean cut outs from your cookie cutter. Fill a shallow dish with flour and dip the cutter into it before each cut. Then very gently wiggle the cutter back and forth to separate it from the rest of the dough.
  
  

This recipe for homemade dog biscuits can be cut into any shape of dog treat that you like. We chose squirrels to give our window watching friends the opportunity to finally catch the little tease and devour them the way they've always dreamed.