First, I need to apologize for not posting sooner. Believe it or not, I am having trouble adjusting to the kids' new schedule. It's the end of October and I am still so unorganized. Hopefully, I'll get back on track soon. Next, I am seriously embarrassed to admit that this is the first time I've ever made treats for my best doggy-boy L.T. As much as I love to bake and cook, I've never baked him anything. Nada. Zilch. Rien. It makes me feel like a bad Mom and it's going to stop immediately. From now on, he's going to get great treats. Thomas Keller caliber treats. And actually, this is a Thomas Keller recipe from his Bouchon Bakery cookbook. I've made them gluten free because I think L.T. gets itchy when he eats gluten (I know it sounds weird) and I don't do any gluten baking in the house. He loved them and gobbled them up unlike any other treat I've ever given him. I can also verify their tastiness. I tried one. Hilarious but I ate one up and I can see why a dog would go crazy for them. Very chicken livery:). I also gave him little bites of dough along the way- it was so cute! L.T. is like a child to me. He is the sweetest dog and is actually the only one in my home who listens to me and definitely the most well behaved. I love this little guy so much and I am going to make him a lot more of these treats. He deserves it - such a wonderful dog!
L.T waiting patiently until I give him the o.k. to dive in. Look at that face!
Licking his chops.
Asking for more treats after he's already finished a few...
La Recette:
Ingredients-
1 lb- sliced bacon cut into 1-inch wide pieces
13 oz. - chicken livers cut into 1/2 inch pieces
3/4 cup + 1 tablespoon - fine cornmeal
3 cups + 3 tablespoons - gluten free baking mix (or all purpose flour)
1 tablespoon - extra virgin olive oil
1 - 1 1/2 cups - chicken stock
Ketchup Glaze-
1/4 cup tomato paste
1 egg white
Supplies-
Stand or hand mixer
Blender or food processor
Saute pan
Baking sheets
Parchment paper and/or silpats
Metal wire rack, and aluminum foil for cooking bacon
Chef's knife
Measuring cups and spoons
Rolling pin
Small bowl
Whisk
Pastry brush
Bone cookie cutter (any size works). I ordered a trio of cutters from Amazon and I prefer the smallest size (1 3/4 inch), as L.T. is under 20 pounds when he is on his diet ;)
Directions-
-Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees.
-Position oven racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven.
-Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silpats.
-Line one baking sheet well with aluminum foil.
-Place the bacon on the wire rack and then place the wire rack on the baking sheet lined with aluminum foil.
-Cook the bacon for 20 minutes in the oven. Remove the bacon and let it cool to room temperature.
-Turn the oven temperature down to 250 degrees.
-Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in the saute pan and then add the chicken livers. Cook for about 5 minutes turning frequently and smashing them slightly until they are broken down and become a paste. Don't over cook.
-Place the chicken livers and bacon into a blender or food processor and process until paste like and well combined. Add in the cornmeal and process until you have a course mixture.
-Transfer the mixture to a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Slowly add the flour and mix until combined.
-Next, slowly add 1 - 1 1/2 cups of chicken stock. The dough should be moist to touch and gather around the paddle.
-Remove the dough from the mixture and knead it just enough until well combined.
-Place the dough between two sheets of parchment paper and roll the it out to 3/8 - inch thick.
- Using the dog bone cutter, cut out the treats and place them on the prepared pans.
-Knead the leftover dough together and repeat. If you use the smallest dog bone cookie cutter, it makes a lot of treats. You can cut the dough in half and freeze it in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Or cut out all of the treats and freeze them on the prepared pans.
-Bake until treats are completely dry. 1 1/2 hours in a convection oven and 3 hours in a standard oven.
-For the glaze, remove the treats from the oven, and reduce the oven temperature to 200 degrees.
-In a small bowl, whisk the tomato paste and egg white together until well combined.
-Using a pastry brush, cover the treats with the glaze. Return the pans to the oven and bake for 20 minutes so the glaze is set.
-Remove from the oven and let the treats cool to room temperature.
-The treats can be stored in a covered container for up to 1 month.
-I hope your pooch enjoys :)
*The smallest size (1 3/4 inch) makes 190-200 treats.
*I would also like to note that every year on L.T.'s birthday, I make him a petite filet. So, I'm not a completely neglectful Mommy!
