Vegan Dog Bikkies

No, Ikey isn't a vegan dog, but I'm a vegan baker, so if I'm going to make biscuits for him - I'd just as soon they be meat-free.  I pulled this recipe from a fun site, Doggy Dessert Chef which I found after I joined Foodbuzz.com.  They have loads of recipes for treats for pets and a section dedicated to vegan biscuits.  I'm going to work my way through them all, but I decided to start with the one included below: Apple Cider Dog Biscuits.

Apple Cider Dog Biscuits
Makes ~3 dozen

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup orange juice
4 tbsp. vegan "butter"

Preheat oven to 350F.  Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a medium-sized bowl, combine the flour and cinnamon, then using a fork or pastry cutter, break up the vegan "butter" into the flour - to resemble coarse meal.  Just the way you'd make pie dough.

In a small bowl, whisk together the applesauce and orange juice, then pour into the flour mixture.  Stir until combined, then knead gently to bring it all together.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out to about 1/4" and cut into dog bone shapes with a cookie cutter.

Bake for about 15 minutes, rotating pans halfway through.  Allow to cool completely before storing in the refrigerator.

Just a few ingredients - all the stuff I have on hand in the pantry anyway - and the dough was very easy to knead and roll out.  (I did omit the nutmeg - I'm not a fan, therefore Ike isn't either - and don't have any in the house.) They smelled pretty darn good in the oven, too.  You'll notice that the ingredients bear a striking resemblance to those found in ordinary pie crust, and in fact, when taste-tested by us humans (something I couldn't/wouldn't do with homemade biscuits containing meat products), the consensus was that the biscuits tasted like...pie crust.  Works for me!  And apparently, it works for Ike, too.  He snarfed some down without hesitation.

I can't wait to try the Peanut Butter Banana Biscuits.  Those are for the dog, right??