Introduction: Dehydrated Turkey & Sweet Potato Cookies (for Dogs!)

About: Welcome to my kitchen! Whether I'm making cookies with the little ones or specialty desserts for the big ones, I'm having fun in the kitchen creating food that's yummy to eat

Now THIS is what my dog calls a perfect cookie: lean turkey, tender sweet potato, and molasses, all finished with a dog-friendly cranberry on top!

In this Instructable, I will be using a dehydrator and food processor to make healthy cookies for our fur babies. If yours is a smaller breed, feel free to half the recipe; time and temperature settings remain the same. This dog cookie can also be finished in the oven if you do not have a dehydrator.

Step 1: Gather Tools and Ingredients

Tools

Ingredients

  • 4 cups turkey, cooked
  • 1 1/2 - 2 cups water
  • 2 cups sweet potato, cooked until soft
  • 2 Tbl molasses
  • 3 cups oatmeal, dry, uncooked
  • 3-4 dozen cranberries, fresh or frozen

Step 2: Prepare Sweet Potato

Prepare Sweet potato in the microwave

  1. Rinse
  2. Pat dry
  3. Pierce with fork and place on a microwave safe plate
  4. Microwave for about 5 minutes until fork tender

Step 3: Process Cooked Turkey

You can use leftover turkey or ground turkey in this recipe. Either, however, should be cooked and cooled before adding to food processor. Put the cooked turkey and water in the food processor (or blender) until it forms a thick paste without any meat chunks.

PRO TIP: Don't add all the water at once to ensure the right consistency - thick paste.

Step 4: Add Cooked Sweet Potato and Molasses

Add cooked and soft sweet potato (no skin) and molasses to the meat paste and puree until a smooth, thick paste.

PRO TIP: You can use canned sweet potatoes if preferred

Step 5: Add Dry Uncooked Oatmeal

Spoon the mixture into a large bowl. Add 3 cups oatmeal and mix well.

PRO TIP: The cookie dough should not be too wet or runny. Add more oatmeal if necessary to get the right consistency

Step 6: Scoop, Arrange on Dehydrator Trays and Add Cranberry

Using a cookie scoop, scoop the cookie dough onto the dehydrator racks. Place a cranberry on top of each cookie, pressing it in slightly so that the berry stays on the cookie.

PRO TIP: Use a small to medium cookie scoop according to your dog's size

Step 7: Dehydrate 160 F, 4-5 Hours

Set the dehydrator to 160 F (usually the highest setting for a dehydrator). Leave dog cookies in the dehydrator for 4-5 hours until thoroughly dry but not crispy.

Mmmm, this cookie passes the sniff test!

PRO TIP: If using an oven, set your temperature to the lowest setting, place dog cookies on a parchment lined baking sheet. Depending on your setting, start checking treats after 3 hours.

Step 8: Treat Time!

Dog approved.

Ummm, he ate my photo prop!

PRO TIP: Store dog cookies in an air tight container in the refrigerator. Cookies should be good about 3 weeks. Fresh or frozen blueberries can be used in place of cranberries.