Friday, February 29, 2008

The boys got their way with more pup treats!

Time got away from me this week - the poor pups had to suffer a few days without any homemade treats... tragic I know, right?

(Spike was not in the mood for camera time today.. boo!)

They survived, but after a few days of whining (can we say spoiled?), I rolled up my sleeves and threw together a special batch of treats for them.

For an array of texture in these Vanilla-Peanut Butter Treats, we used a few different dry ingredients - whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, cornmeal, rolled oats and rye flour. To moisten that combination, a wet mixture is whisked together consisting of water, canola oil, a few tablespoons of creamy peanut butter and the surprise ingredient, aromatic vanilla! If this mixture is too wet, don't be afraid to add additional whole wheat flour- the dough will be a little soft, but shouldn't be sticky. You will also want to be generous with the flour as you roll and cut out the dough. This makes several dozen treats, depending on the size of your cutter, so if you can't fit them all on a couple baking sheets, cover and set the filled sheets aside while the others bake. While I was cleaning up, I had set a wire rack filled with cookies on a smaller table in the kitchen to cool and as soon as I turned my back, I heard little nails slowly prancing on the hardwood floors heading straight for them. Luckily, I caught Max just in time before he decided to gorge himself on more than his fair share!

Once I had gotten those out of the way, I also needed to get our favorite Hamburger Buns together so we could serve tonight's dinner, Glazed Bacon-and-Cheese-Filled Burgers, on them.

"Glazed" is used loosely for these - there is not a wet mixture spread on them per se, but instead a generous amount of a spices are rubbed on the formed burgers. Dark brown sugar, paprika, garlic with smoky cumin and chipotle powder are combined to form said spice mixture. Because that mixture has a high sugar content, it melts and caramelizes as it heats up. The ground sirloin used for the burgers is first shaped into eight patties, with four of them having a mound of sharp white cheddar and crispy bacon crumbles placed on them. The remaining four patties are added on top and the two are melded together - be sure to pinch the edges well so all of the cheese stays inside. I loved how the salty crisp bacon spread its smoky flavor throughout the meat as the burgers cooked. With three tablespoons of dark brown sugar in the rub, you may think it would add an unpleasant sweetness - however, combined with the savory spices, the combination just adds a barbecue depth without the mess.


8 comments:

  1. I have been lurking around your blog for quite a long time now and felt that I just HAD to finally say Hi!

    Love the recipes, the pictures and especially the dogs. :)

    Hope you don't mind I've put your site on my blogroll of my own site!

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  2. I love that you make your dogs homemade treats...I am sure they love it too!

    Courtney

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  3. I certainly hope that Spike is in a better mood after eating some homemade treats (he posed in a wonderfully melancholic way, though!).

    Thanks so much for posting the bun recipe. I make "Moomies Buns", which I know you've seen the recipe for, but yours have the look that I'm after so I will try them as soon as I am able. Thanks!

    ~Vicci

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  4. Rina - I'm glad you spoke up! Thanks for linking to us!

    Courtney - I hope they do!

    KQV - The pups have been very well behaved now they have their precious treats again!

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  5. Having had a white dog, I just have to ask. How do you keep his fur so white and avoid tear stains??

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  6. Just have to tell you I made your hamburgers tonight and they are to die for!!!! Just the right amount of zing! Thank you for posting the recipe.

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  7. What a beautiful dog ... What soulfull eyes! How could you resist those eyes??

    My Milo would love your pup treats. I should go dust off the bone-shaped cookie cutter now ...

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  8. Liz - I think we are just lucky... we don't do too much but wipe around his eyes every nowt and then!

    Anon - Great! Thank you for the feedback!

    Tania - I can't! He gets spoiled often.

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