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I’ve ordered flour three weeks in a row in my grocery delivery.
And yet, here we are, out of flour. This grocery shortage is something else, guys! I’d do things I should be ashamed of for a little bread yeast.
I get it. We’ve never had more time to get in the kitchen and bake for ourselves, our family, and our dogs. When the world seems uncertain, there is something about the warm reassurance and sense of accomplishment baking brings me. It’s cozy. It’s comforting. And it’s delicious.
Plus, with me working from home, Kolchak’s snack requirements have multiplied exponentially. He says Nana is very generous with the snacks and that I am a miser. He pretends to be S T A R V I N G most of the time. I’ve had to increase my baking efforts just to keep up with his demands. But baking without flour presented me an interesting challenge this week: how could I make a homemade dog treat my dog would love without it?
Spoiler alert: I did it.
These wheat-free and egg-free chicken dog treats are made with a mix of chickpeas, oatmeal, ground chicken, and herbs. Oh and love (that’s the secret ingredient). *sentimental tear* JK. I would never, but I read a recipe for banana bread this week that said that in earnest and I can’t get it out of my head.
This homemade dog treat recipe was inspired by another grocery order snafu. I had requested meat counter ground chicken; what I got is this tube of Maple Leaf lean ground chicken. With no offense intended to tube chicken, it’s not my jam. It’s a really fine grind that is great for things like meatballs, but not great for what I wanted to make (chicken tacos). Luckily, it’s also perfect for using in DIY dog treats.
How to Make Wheat-Free Chicken Dog Treats
The wheat-free and egg-free chicken dog treats are perfect for dogs with food intolerances.
Materials
- 4 cups rolled oats* or oat flour
- 1 lb. finely ground lean chicken
- 1 540 mL can of chickpeas
- 1 handful fresh parsley*
- 1 handful fresh cilantro*
Tools
- Food Processor
- Rolling pin
- Cookie cutter
- cookie sheets
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. One cup at a time, place the rolled oats into the food processor and pulse until ground into a medium grind. Set aside in a medium bowl.
3. Drain your chickpeas, reserving two tablespoons of the liquid.
4. Place your chickpeas and fresh herbs into the food processor. Add two tablespoons of the chickpea liquid. (It's called Aquafaba and it's a great egg substitute. Who knew?) Pulse until smooth.
5. Add your chickpeas mixture and chicken to the bowl with the oats. Stir to combine. Once the dough starts to get stiff, you may have to get in there with your hands to finish combining it. (In the infamous words of Ms. Frizzle, "Take chances, make mistakes, get messy!" Watch the baking episode; it's my fav.) If the dough feels a little sticky - don't worry! It takes a bit of time for the oats to absorb the excess moisture,
6. Cover with a damp kitchen towel and allow to sit for 5 - 10 minutes. Once the dough has rested, it should be firm and non-sticky, perfect for rolling out with a rolling pin to cut into shapes. (See recipe notes for the alternate method of rolling balls)
7. Roll out the dough to approximately 3/8" thick. Cut into shapes using a cookie cutter.
8. Place on a cookie sheet. As the dough has very little fat, it will not spread, so you can place the cookies fairly close together.
9. Bake for 25 - 35 minutes, until the cookie bottoms are golden brown.
10. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 - 5 days or in the freezer for 3 - 5 months.
Notes
*If using dried herbs, use 2 tablespoons of each.
Not into rolling out the dough? I feel you. Too woofing much work. That's cool. I gotchoo. Using your hands, roll the dough into 1" balls. Use a fork to smash them thin, turn the fork 90 degrees and press them the opposite way. Bake as directed. 
Kolchak LOVED them.
I mean, he’s a puggle and a certified food-hound, so he loves a lot of things, but these were a pretty big hit.
The only problem with this recipe is that it makes…a lot of treats. Like A LOT. Like with the cookie cutter I used, I ended up with 8 dozen cookies and no available freezer space. Whoops! If you don’t have a way to preserve these (such as popping them into the dehydrator to make them shelf-stable or the freezer to use as needed), you might want to half the recipe and use the leftover chickpeas to make yourself some green goddess hummus. I packaged up my extras and shared them with the other doggos in our apartment building. I really miss petting all the dogs right now and it was a nice way to show them I was thinking of them and their snuggles until we meet again.
Have you been baking lately? What have you made?
vicky
Friday 5th of July 2024
Can I ask, if you do dehydrate these cookies, is this after you have baked them or dehydrate them totally without baking and if so, how long should I dehydrate them for please? Many thanks. Vicky
Jodi
Sunday 14th of July 2024
Absolutely these can be dehydrated, but they get REALLY hard, so I would make them a little thinner. I would start by tossing them in the dehydrator overnight and then do a break test. They're fully dehydrated if they snap crisp with no soft spots in the centres.