Baking for your pooch (and a great cookie recipe too!)

I love to bake - and have always baked goodies for friends, family and - since Lucie, my golden retriever, came into my life five years ago - for doggies. Lately though, since I've sworn off sugar, gluten & dairy products for the foreseeable future on the advice of a naturopath, I've been channeling all my baking urges into experimenting with recipes for great doggie snacks.

Of course, this has made for some extra-happy pooches in our household who gamely (and encouragingly??) eat the results of recipes that clearly still need lots of work! However, I could tell from the moment that these coco-loco biscuits went in the oven that these were going to be a huge hit. I think these are my dogs' fave ones to date, so I wanted to share the recipe:

1 cup brown rice flour

1.5 cup oat flour

1 cup unsweetened shredded dehydrated coconut

1 egg

3/4 cup coconut milk

1/4 cup canned pumpkin

3 T Cocotherapy coconut oil (or olive oil)

3 T coconut flour (optional)

1 T baking powder

1 t baking soda

1 t powdered ginger (optional)

Preheat oven to 350. In a large bowl, combine all dry ingredients together and mix well.

In 10 second spurts, melt coconut oil in microwave until just a few small lumps remain, then stir until all lumps are completely melted. Stir in coconut milk, then beat in the egg.

Add coconut milk mixture to dry ingredients and mix well. Should be a bit drier than the consistency of regular cookie dough. If it's too dry to roll out, then add a bit more coconut milk or water.

On a lightly oat-floured surface, roll out dough to about 1/4" thick. Cut shapes out with a small cookie cutter and lay on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. These won't expand in size as they bake, so you can put them very close together.

Bake for 2o minutes, then without opening the oven door, shut the oven off and leave in until cooled completely. I just leave them overnight - this dries the cookies out so you can store them at room temp for a long time. Super-delish smelling!

If you try this recipe, let me know how it turns out for you - and of any tweaks you made!