Peanut Butter Carob Biscuits...

We were a little worried how Gus would handle all the traveling we have been doing lately, but he has been a real trooper. I had planned on making those Crunchy BBQ Biscuits that we've done several times, but I figured he deserved a special treat that we could take along for the recent (and again upcoming) Charlotte trip. With some scrounging around in the pantry to figure out what was on hand, we ended up with these Peanut Butter Carob Biscuits!

We have used carob before, like in those Banana-Carob "Pup"scotti (though that form was in solid chips) - this time, however, we used carob powder. Don't confuse that with cocoa powder, which is not safe for dogs - carob doesn't taste quite the same, but it doesn't have caffeine and has only traces of theobromine, making it safe for dogs. We picked up ours from the bulk bin of our local natural foods co-op, but if you don't have one of those or a health food store nearby, I have started to see it more often in larger grocery stores.

We used a variety of dry ingredients to form the base of these biscuits, including whole-wheat flour, carob powder (which can be fairly clumping - send it through a sifter to fix that), oat bran, old-fashioned rolled oats, rye flour, nonfat dry milk and a touch of baking powder for lift. To saturate the flour mixture and begin to form a dough, we whisked together a mixture of warm water, creamy peanut butter, canola oil and for a hint of sweetness, a drizzle of golden honey.

Using a sturdy wooden spoon to form a fairly stiff dough, you will notice that it'll still be a bit too shaggy and sticky to work with. To smooth out the roughness and get it ready to roll, a few push and pulls with your hands, adding enough extra whole-wheat flour to keep it from sticking, will finish bringing it together. With a short rest to the the dough relax, it was rolled out to a decent thickness and cut into a variety of shapes using a few favorite small cookie cutters. You won't need to by shy working with the dough as I found it to be pretty forgiving - re-roll it as necessary to cut out as many biscuits as you can.

The dough is on the darker side, making it difficult to know when exactly to take them out - look for them to brown a bit, puff up and if you gave them a press, they should be firm to the touch. They won't be crunchy just yet, but they do crisp up well as they cool. If your pup is a fan of very crunchy biscuits, turn the oven off, leave the door ajar and let them cool inside for a few hours or overnight.

Gus is usually pretty patient, but he plopped his butt right in front of the oven and didn't move until we pulled them pulled out... at which point he made his new home right underneath the table where they were cooling! He devoured the half of one I gave him, but I think someone may have sneaked him a couple extra (yes, you know who you are) as I saw some crumbs by his bed an hour later! We froze half for when we came back, but took the rest with us - Gus was even kind enough to share some with new friends he met at the dog-friendly hotel we stayed at!

Recipes
Peanut Butter Carob Biscuits