Oatmeal and cranberry cookies and homemade treats for the bitches

Yep, I have two bitches (and, no I'm not talking about my daughters :). They are Bichon Frise mother and daughter. The mother is 9 years old, she has a gentle personality, dislikes water and is a very picky eater. Her daughter jumps in the pond every chance she gets, is incredibly innovative in finding projects to work on (most involving destruction of some kind) and eats everything she finds. I used to be able to put dry dog food in a bowl and the mother would nibble when she felt like it. Not so with the daughter. I recently realized that she has been eating from mom every chance she gets and is quite overweight, so now she is on a strict diet.

I have gotten interested in making dog food at home and have made some experiments. Mom likes everything I make as long as it is freshly made, but as soon as it has been in the fridge, she looses interest. Even if I've warmed it up, she just turns up her nose and walks away. The little one as I said, will eat anything. So the challenge has been to find something to make that mom will want and I did manage to make a great treat the other day that she absolutely loved.

Today I made treats for us all. My favorite oatmeal and cranberry cookies (with chocolate chips as well) .  The original recipe had white flour and sugar, but I changed it to be a bit healthier than usual.  I also made the sweet honey treat for the dogs, the recipe is something I made up to be a bit like the oatmeal recipe, but no chocolate - and no oatmeal.

Oatmeal and cranberry cookies

Mix in a separate bowl:
1.5 cup whole wheat (or spelt if you prefer)
1 tsp baking soda
0.5 tsp salt
2.5 cups oats

Whisk well together in the mixer:
1 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
0.5 cup white sugar

Add to this:
 2 large eggs
1 tbsp honey
2 tsp vanilla essence

Lastly add the wheat and oatmeal mix from the bowl and:
1.5 cup cranberries
1 cup chopped up dark chocolate

Put on baking sheet with baking paper with a teaspoon.  Bake at 180C/350F for about 10-12 min.

Sweet honey treat  for the bitches

2.5 cups whole wheat
1 cup boiled rice (I just had that in the fridge, this could also be oats)
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup milk or cream
2 tbsp sunflower oil
2 eggs

Mix everything together.  Make into little balls and squish them flat on a baking sheet.
Bake at 180C/350F for 30 min.  Most recipes for dog treats that I have seen say to let this sit in the oven until cold and hard, but my dogs like them a little soft.  I give them only one a day of these and remember to brush their teeth.
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The photo: My Swedish kitchen scale, bought at the G. S. for not much is missing it's bowl and little thingy, but it works. I can't resist old baking forms either..