Canine Nutritionist Kristina Johansen shares her recipe for delicious and nutritious Halloween dog treats, packed with pumpkin, ginger and cinnamon.
The trick for these crispy bones is to make them nice and thick, and to use a high oven temperature.
Nutritionally, pumpkin flesh is an excellent source of carotenoids and fibre, which promotes healthy digestion, while the seeds are a good source of magnesium. Ginger, meanwhile, is loaded with gingerols (compounds that prevent damage to your dog's cells) and is great for stomach upsets and nausea.
Ingredients
- 200g white flour
- 70g pumpkin purée
- 1/4 cup chopped pumpkin seeds
- 1 egg
- 1/4 teaspoon dry cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ginger
Method
- Preheat the oven to 250°C.
- Place the flour, ginger, cinnamon and pumpkin seeds in a bowl and mix.
- Make a well in the centre of the flour and add the pumpkin purée and egg. Beat with a fork until combined. Then combine with the flour mixture.
- Knead to form a stiff dough.
- Roll the dough onto a floured surface to approximately 2-3mm thickness. Use a fork to prick holes in the surface of the dough. Flip the dough and prick the other side. This is an important step to stop 'bubbles' forming when the treats are baked.
- Cut out the dough with a bone-shaped cookie cutter.
- Bake until the surface of the bones are golden brown (around 4 minutes).
- Flip the bones over and continue to bake until the second side is golden brown and crisp (again, around 4 minutes).
- Remove to a cooling rack.
The recipe provides approximate 913 calories, 14g fat, 35g protein and 160g carbohydrates.