Friday, September 14, 2012

Glossy Chicken Treats


I decided to bake Rose a batch of biscuits in preparation for our mini-vacation. Just because. Oh. And we had also run completely out of chewy chicken flavored Milkbones around the same time!! Oops. Good thing I own a dog treat cookbook!! Not to mention, in addition I have collected several recipes from Blogs and Web sites online!! Okay. So, after several days attempting to make a decision among my endless choices, I went with this cornbread-flavored chicken recipe!! Yes, I test-tasted one!! Rose would rate this recipe: Four 'paws' way, way up!!

Paw Lick'n Chick'n
HOW DID THE CHICKEN GET TO THE OTHER SIDE OF THE ROAD? (Really?! That is such a cliché question!!)
3 cups white flour
3/4 cup yellow cornmeal
1 cup chicken broth
4 tablespoons softened margarine (I used butter!!)
1 egg
1 tablespoon milk

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Combine flour, cornmeal, chicken broth and margarine (Or, in my case, butter!!). Knead dough for 3 minutes. (I had some loose flour on the bottom of my mixing bowl. So, using our metal spoon, I sort of "mashed" it in!! After that, I did not need to set some timer for three minutes!! I'm a rebel, this I know!! I did, however, knead my dough!!) Apply a light layer of flour to rolling surface and pin. Roll dough to 1/4 inch thickness and stamp out with cookie cutter. Beat egg and milk together and apply to top of biscuits with brush. Bake at 325 degrees for 35 minutes on an ungreased cookie sheet. (I baked six at a time for 30 minutes!!) Makes two dozen. (Yep.... That was how many I baked!!) (They are golden brown on top when done!!)

Bake bones on the middle oven rack. If your dough is sticky, apply a light layer of flour to your hands, the rolling surface and rolling pin. Because of variations in oven temperatures, monitor the cooking time for your batch of "Doggy Bones". Bake bones until the bottoms of the biscuits become medium brown, and adjust remaining baking times accordingly. If bones do not become "bone hard", bake bones for an additional five minutes or leave them in the oven as it cools. Store "Doggy Bones" in an airtight container. For extended supply, double your batch and freeze them!

 The dough was dry, so rather than adding "sprinkles" of water, I gradually poured in extra chicken broth!! Yeah!! Extra flavoring!! I allowed Rose a liberal taste of chicken broth. She loved it, and wanted more!! So, I gave in!! Spoiled girl!! For reasons beyond my comprehension, the biscuits stuck to our pan, as though somebody had glued them there. Seriously. Was it the egg/milk coating, perhaps? Hmmm.... Next time--which will be for Rose's "birthday"/Gotcha Day on September 21st--I'll spray the pan!! Why? Because I needed a spatula to pry my biscuits from the pan!! They were bonded that well!! One biscuit actually split in half!! Whoops. But they were glossy-looking!! The prettiest batch of biscuits I have baked!! Thus far!! In fact, they looked too pretty for eating!! Sort of fancy, even!! There is, however, a downside to these biscuits. Several of them developed mold while sitting in their airtight container. Ew!! I threw all of those away, of course!! This may have been my fault. For enclosing the biscuits before they completely cooled. Or, perhaps it was the egg/milk coating? Maybe I should refrigerate these biscuits? Or freeze half of them next time? Queries, queries, queries!! Plus the inside of our enclosed airtight container got damp somehow. Any input would be greatly appreciated!!        

 

14 comments:

Bella Roxy & Macdui said...

We'll add this to the recipes that SHE's not making. When SHE first got her dog bone cookie cutters, SHE made us all sorts of stuff.

We'll have to get HER moving!

XXXOOO Daisy, Bella & Roxy

We just put them in a container--but there's three of us, so we eat them quicker.

Finn said...

Oh no! Maybe the container was a little moist before you closed it? I would definitely spray the pan next time too. I think Rose would appreciate if you made her more batches of this stuff for practice!!! :)

Mary Lou said...

Daisy, Bella & Roxy....
Rose here. Mama says that I should thank you for the comment. Here goes. Thank-you!! ;op
What?! SHE purchased a bone cookie cutter, began baking treats, and then stopped?! Why, that is an outrage!! ;op

Mary Lou said...

Finn....
Thank-you for the comment!!
Practice makes perfect!! And for my "second chance"? On Rose's "birthday"/Gotcha Day? I intend to substitute chicken broth for beef!! Make it a bit different!! ;-D
I never considered the notion that our air tight container may have previously been moist. Hmmm. Moist from our dishwasher, perhaps? Huh. On the other hand, now that I have thought this through, refrigerating those treats within an airtight container will only produce further moisture!! ;op

Lorenza said...

The cookies sound yummy!
My mom says that if you don't want to put grease to the pan, just spread some cornmeal on it.
Maybe the cookies were not cool enough when you put them into the container thats why they developed mold.
My mom puts my cookies in zipplock bags. 7 in each one. She leaves one in the fridge and the others in the freezer. That way they are fresh all the time.
Happy Saturday
Kisses and hugs
Lorenza

Mary Lou said...

Lorenza....
Thank-you for the comment!!
I have never considered storing the treats in Ziplock bags!! My cookbook suggested airtight containers. However it never warned me about molding issues!! Go figure!! ;op

KSO said...

Those treats sound absolutely delicious, I'm not much of a cook so I don't know if I can give you any advice but it sounds good to me!

Mary Lou said...

KSO....
Thank-you for the comment!!
Yeah. I was never a baker.... Until Rose, my "food-lovin'" girl came along!! ;op

Rama's Mama said...

Freeze them. ;-) Dogs love cool, crunchy things. :-)

Mary Lou said...

Rama's Mama....
Thank-you for the comment!!
I am so glad that you are my Blogging Friend!! For many reasons. And one is the very fact that you are a former dog treat baker!! ;)
"Freeze them. Dogs love cool, crunchy things.". Thank-you for the input!! Now. I am planning to bake this recipe again in four days!! ;op

Remington said...

YUMMY! Thank you for sharing!

Mary Lou said...

Remington....
Thank-you for the comment!!
And, happy baking!! ;op

Smile With Your Tail said...

Definitely freeze them, they sound YUMMY, so if they are frozen they will last longer, or at least that is how the theory goes ;)

Slobbers

Mary Lou said...

Smile With Your Tail....
Thank-you for the comment!!
"Freeze them. If they are frozen they will last longer.". Thanks!! ;op