Furballs want treats too

My cousin Anne Marie refers to her dogs as furball babies.  Though I prefer to refer to myself as Pack Leader rather than Mommy, I believe that our dogs deserve to be spoiled with treats now and then. Sammy and Katie (that's Sam on the left) accept pinches of food from the table, and were allowed to sample my strawberry cake. I didn't ask them whether they liked the cake because the human verdict was good enough for me. We were at Robert and Anne's for dinner and we each had two slices of cake.  Then the thought occurred to me, why not make dogs their own treats?

I did some research on the internet and discovered that there are certain foods that are forbidden, such as chocolate, butter, garlic, and onions, because they can cause serious illness. I found this recipe on allrecipes.com and it looked fairly safe, if only because none of the forbidden foods was on the list of ingredients.  Making these treats was also a good way to finish up the baking ingredients in my pantry. The only things I needed to go out and buy were Cheddar cheese and margarine.

Doggie Cookies
1 cup rolled oats
1/3 cup margarine
1 cup boiling water
3/4 cup cornmeal
2 teaspoons white granulated sugar
2 teaspoons beef bouillon (I used 1 cube chicken bouillon because Gigi likes chicken)
1/2 cup milk
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1 egg, beaten
3 cups whole wheat flour, plus more for rolling out the dough

Preheat oven to 325˚F (I preheated the convection oven to 170˚C). Grease 2 baking trays.

In a large bowl, combine the oats, margarine, and boiling water. Stir in cornmeal, sugar, bouillon, milk, cheese, and egg. Mix in flour 1 cup at a time until a stiff dough forms. Knead dough on a lightly floured surface. Roll or pat dough to 1/2 inch thickness. Cut with cookie cutter and smooth edges so there won't be sharp rough edges after baking. Place 1 inch apart on the prepared trays. Bake 35-45 minutes (25-35 minutes in a convection oven) or until golden brown. Remove and cool on wire racks. Store cooled cookies airtight in a covered container.

Well, aren't you going to feed me?