Baking for Amber

There are times, when I’m in the kitchen baking, that I am aware of a pair of large black eyes boring into me and feel the presence of a body ready to pounce onto any scrap of food that hits the floor. Today was such a day and, as I sincerely believe that our pet is just as special, in her own way, as us humans in our family, it reminded me that I hadn’t baked in a while for our elderly but still agile Beagle named Amber.

This dog biscuit recipe is a simple one and ingredients can be changed to whatever you have handy, just so long as the weighed dry amounts tally to the amount of liquid. In today’s instance, I decided to leave out the carrots (they were needed for a casserole later in the day) and substituted it with some cheese and a quantity of muesli - which needed to be used up - in place of porridge oats.

250g wholemeal flour

125g oatmeal

125g porridge oats

150ml rapeseed oil

2 eggs lightly beaten

200g carrots trimmed and grated

2 tsp caraway seeds

2 tbsp chopped parsley (optional)

Preheat oven to 170c. Place all dry ingredients into a bowl and then make a well in the centre and pour in the oil, eggs, caraway, carrots (or cheese) and parsley if using.  Mix with a wooden spoon until it is a sticky dough. Work the dough on a floured work-surface and knead to bring together. Place the dough between two sheets of baking parchment and roll out to about 5mm thick. Cut with a bone-shaped cutter if you have one. Bake for about 45-50 minutes until crisp and golden. Cool on a wire rack. Biscuits will keep for up to 2 months in an airtight container – but not in this house!!!

Of course, I can now tell you, Amber was truly appreciative of my baking efforts especially for her today and I have often thought these tasty morsels would make an ideal Christmas gift for any other dog lover.

Meanwhile, I’m sure my own pooch will let me know, in her own special way, when her very own biscuit tin is empty once more!