by Laura Quinn
Combine wet ingredients in large bowl.
Add dry ingredients to bowl and mix thoroughly, until dough forms a soft ball.
Roll out dough to approximately ¼ inch thickness and use cookie cutters to cut out desired shapes.
Place cut cookies on nonstick (or lightly-greased) pan and bake until light golden brown (approximately 20 minutes for small cookies or 30 minutes for standard-sized cookies).
Cool and decorate as desired.
Doggie Mincemeat Pie
Mincemeat traditionally uses raisins, which are toxic to dogs. Baron suggested a few of his favorite seasonal ingredients to make the paw-fect holiday pie for dogs. Although the crust recipe is included, the filling is just as good on its own.
Mincemeat Filling:
Ingredients:
½ Pound Lean Ground Turkey or Beef, Cooked
¼ Cup Cooked Brown Rice
¾ Cup Beef Broth*
1 Teaspoon Ground Ginger
¼ Cup Chopped Fresh (Or Dried) Cranberries
½ Cup Finely Diced Sweet Potatoes
½ Cup Finely Diced Carrots
1 Cup Finely Diced Apples
¼ Cup Cooked Brown Rice
1 Tablespoon Molasses
1 Teaspoons Cinnamon
Preparation:
Pour broth into large sauté pan. Stir in ginger. Add cranberries, sweet potatoes, carrots and apples.
Cook until tender (approximately 15 minutes).
Add cooked ground meat and cooked rice into pan with cooked fruits and vegetables.
Add molasses and cinnamon to mixture. Stir well.
Serve mincemeat in a bowl as a meal when cool OR spoon into pie shells and bake (see below).
*Homemade beef broth is best, but organic, low-sodium broth is a good substitute. Water may be used instead of broth.
Howliday Pie Crust
Ingredients:
1 Cup Unbleached White Flour
½ Cup Whole Wheat Flour
¼ Cup Vegetable Shortening
½ Cup Beef Broth*, Chilled
½ Tablespoon Honey
1 Teaspoon Ground Ginger
Preparation:
In a large bowl, combine flours and ginger. Cut in shortening and honey until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Slowly mix in broth (start with 1/3 cup, add more as necessary), until mixture forms a ball.
Prepare filling.
Roll out dough to approximately 1/8” thickness and cut out to fit desired-sized pie tin or cupcake pan. (Tip: use a 3” round cookie cutter to use with a mini cupcake pans or a 5” round cookie cutter to use with a standard-sized cupcake pan
Use leftovers to cut small shapes to place on top of each pie.
Press each dough circle down into a greased or nonstick pie tin or muffin pan.
Add filling to the rim of each pie crust. Add cut-out pie crust pieces on top.
Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit until crusts are golden brown: approximately 15 minutes for mini pies or 20 minutes for standard size pies.
Cool, remove from pan and treat nice (and naughty) dogs. Store extra pies (and filling) in the refrigerator or freezer.
Beefy Cheesy Crunchy Wreaths
Baron loves these crunchy wreaths, which he tosses around as a toy ring a few times before devouring. Using two doughs creates a fun and flavorful two-tone twist, but if you’re short on time, choose one dough and make simple rings. The egg wash in final step adds a nice shine, but is not necessary.
Beefy Dough
Ingredients:
1 Teaspoon Yeast
1 Cup Warm Beef Broth* (110-115 Degrees)
½ Tablespoon Molasses (Or Honey)
2 Cups Whole Wheat Flour
Preparation:
Dissolve yeast in warm beef broth*.
Stir in molasses.
Add wheat flour and mix to make a soft dough. If needed, spoon in small amounts of additional flour (or water, if too dry).
Knead for 4 minutes.
Place dough in greased bowl and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Set aside and let rise for thirty minutes.
*Homemade beef broth is best, but organic, low-sodium broth is a good substitute. Water may be used instead of broth.
Cheesy Dough
Ingredients:
1 Teaspoon Yeast
¾ Cup Warm Water (110-115 Degrees)*
½ Tablespoon Honey
2 Cups Unbleached White Flour
2 Tablespoons Parmesan Cheese
Preparation:
Dissolve yeast in warm water.
Stir in honey and let set for 5 minutes.
Add white flour and mix to make a soft dough. If needed, spoon in small amounts of additional flour (or water, if too dry).
Mix in Parmesan cheese.
Knead for 4 minutes.
Place dough in greased bowl and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Set aside and let rise for 30 minutes.
Continue with Wreath Assembly (following)
Wreath Assembly
Ingredients:
1 Large Egg
1 Tablespoon Beef Broth
Beefy Dough
Cheesy Dough
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
Pinch off approximately 2 Tablespoons of each dough and roll each into thin logs of desired length. (approximately ½” thick is a good general size, or make thinner for small dogs, thicker for large dogs.
Twist the two doughs together and shape them into wreaths, pinching the ends together.
Place on lightly-greased or nonstick cookie sheet.
Beat egg and beef broth in bowl until well-combined. Lightly brush mixture on each wreath.
Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit until golden brown (approximately 15 minutes for small wreaths to 25 minutes for large wreaths).
Reduce oven temperature to 225 degrees Fahrenheit and bake until hard (approximately 40 minutes). Cool and treat, storing extras in a cool, dry space.
Tip: For extra-crunchy treats, leave wreaths in turned-off oven overnight.
Doggie EggNoggy Ice Cream (Decadent Version)
Like the homemade pudding my grandma made, this recipe requires a few steps. Baron thinks the extra time is worth it, resulting in a thicker, richer frozen treat. In a hurry? Try the eggless eggnog recipe, following.
Ingredients:
2 Egg Yolks (Or 1 Egg)
2 Cups Rice Milk (Or Coconut Milk)
2 Tablespoons Cornstarch
1 Teaspoon Ginger
1 Tablespoon Honey
½ Teaspoon Cinnamon
Preparation:
Whisk yolks (or egg) in medium-sized bowl, set aside.
Add milk, cornstarch, ginger and honey to medium-sized saucepan. Stir over medium heat until mixture bubbles. Cook for 2 more minutes, stirring frequently.
Remove pan from heat. Slowly pour half the milk mixture into the beaten egg in bowl, stirring constantly.
Pour the egg-milk mixture into the pan and return to medium heat. Cook 2 minutes, stirring frequently.
Remove pot from heat and stir in cinnamon. Let cool, stirring occasionally.
Pour into desired container(s) and freeze until solid.
Eggless Eggnog Ice Cream
This version is less creamy, but just as delicious (and lower in calories). Plus, it’s a snap to make.
Ingredients:
1 32-ounce Container Plain, Non-Fat Yogurt
2 Ripe Bananas, Peeled and Quartered
1 Tablespoon Ground Ginger
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
Preparation:
1. Pour yogurt, bananas, ginger and cinnamon into blender.
2. Blend until fully pureed.
3. Pour into desired container and freeze until solid.
Author Bio
Laura Quinn learned to bake at her grandmother’s side, a skill that came in handy when she welcomed her paw-ticularly fussy Eurasier. Her hand-crafted dog treats went Hollywood when they were selected to be included in the 63rd Annual Golden Globe A
wards® Presenter’s Package. Quinn’s grandmother also inspired her love of mysteries, from reading the complete collection of Agatha Christie’s books to watching Murder She Wrote together on Sunday nights. Quinn studied writing at The Graduate School of Northwestern University and earned her Master’s Degree from the University of Chicago. Although she earned her Private Investigator training certificate, crime-solving adventures are confined to the pages of her books. She is well-trained, and often outsmarted, by her beloved dog and cats.
Other books by Laura Quinn:
☐ Punk Charming: A Mixtape of Travel, Love
& 80s Pop Culture (2016)
Three Woofs for the Dead, White and Blue:
Pawtisserie Mysteries Book 1 (2019)
Cuatro de Julio Fatal: Un Caso Para los Sabuesos:
Spanish Translation of Above (2019)
Woofs, Witches and Deadly Wishes:
Pawtisserie Mysteries Book 3 (TBR 2020)
Learn more at
LauraQuinnBooks.com
