Sweet potato cheese doggie treats

Doggies rule our lives. We walk them, care for them, feed them, spoil them and love them. They are family. Being a part time cook and food blogger, well, I want to make their treats too. I made them chicken and rice treats, but, it appears that’s not enough. Another recipe is needed, well, here’s sweet potato and cheese doggie treats, and they love them

The treat

Dogs love cheese. And, it’s quite understandable, I mean, who doesn’t? I’ve met people who have chosen a vegan lifestyle, for many reasons. However, they tell me that cheese is the hardest thing to give up. So, I wanted to come up with a treat with cheese. But, as much as he likes cheese, there have to be other ingredients too. One of the basic ideas behind me making the treats is that they’re healthy, and, will give my furry friend something more than just a treat.

There are lots of fruits and vegetables the are good for dogs, and some that are not. Remember, just because we can eat it, doesn’t mean the doggies can. So, remember, if you want to make your own doggie treats, make sure you research the ingredients. I cannot stress the importance of that

My goal with making doggie treats is to use fresh natural ingredients. Stuff the doggies will find tasty and want to come back for more. I also want to use what I already have in the kitchen, or something that’s easy and cheap to get. I want to keep them simple. So, sweet potatoes and cheese are the main ingredients here. Whole-wheat flour too. Whole-wheat flour is better for them, it has fiber and nutrients that are not in white all purpose flour. I’ll use cheddar for the cheese component. I know the doggies love it. As I had said before, there are a lot of cheeses, some are pet friendly and some are not, research is the key.

What’s in them

So, first thing is bake a sweet potato, just a medium one. We’ll need a cup of potato. Clean it (I clean our food, so why not theirs, read this) stick it in the oven for an hour or so. When it’s cooked, scoop out the potato and discard the skin. Potato skins are ok for us to eat (I love them in this recipe), they have fiber and help our digestive tract. They are not suitable for doggies though. They’re hard to digest and upset their tummies. This is an example of what we can eat but our furry friends cannot.

Cheese. Cheddar, its a favorite in this house. Just a half cup of finely grated will be enough. Finely grated cheese mixes up better with the other ingredients, spreads a little more evenly through the dough. Just want to add the flavor, and keep it healthy. Also, flax seed. Flax seed is good for them, helps with joints, blood pressure and keeps their coats shiny. Won’t need much, tablespoon or so. I will use whole wheat flour in the recipe too. Whole wheat is better than white all purpose flour. It’s less processed, so fewer of the nutrients have been stripped from it. Also, it is high in fiber, which, in this case, is as good for them as it is for us. An egg will be the binding agent.

The instructions

Add the sweet potato, cheese and egg together in food processor blend till smooth. In a separate bowl, mix the flour and flax meal with a teaspoon of salt. Add the sweet potato mix and kneed into a dough. Transfer to a floured flat surface and continue to kneed and fold to completely mix everything up. Roll the dough out to about 1/2 inch thick.

Using the doggie bone cookie cutter you bought special for this. If you didn’t, just use a pizza slice to cut out 1″ by 2″ rectangles, about the size if a doggie biscuit. Just mix and re-roll any off cuts till you have nothing left.

Place the treats on a parchment lined cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 40 mins, or till starting to show a little golden brown. I like to use parchment paper because it releases better. When done, allow to cool for a half hour or so. And that’s it, sweet potato cheese doggie treats. Go ahead and try one. Yep, try one, they may be called doggie treats, but, they are perfectly edible. You’ll taste a lot of flour, the rest of the flavors are more subtle. Our taste buds are a little different from theirs. But the doggies will love them and keep coming back for more. You can store them in an air tight container for a couple of weeks, but they won’t last that long