The Great Biscuit Bite-Off (Plus Recipes)

Our canine judges were put to the test this year in the Great Biscuit Bite-Off. Each judge wanted to eat all of the biscuits!

SSD Rizzo, SSD Fire, SSD Rossi, and SSD Meade judged the semi-finals at 11:30 on Sunday. Each dog got to pick their three favorite treats (although Fire managed to sneak in a fourth) and the biscuits received a score based on the dogs’ choices.

Here’s Meade making his selections:

The top six biscuits made it to the Biscuit Bite-Off Finals, judged by SSD Rizzo, SSD Buster, and SSD Burke. Watch Buster choose his top three favorite biscuits:

Congratulations to our winners!

Interested in making these biscuits for your dogs? Below are the recipes.

Brutus’s Bacon Cheddar Bites—2^nd place

Submitted by Jill & Colleen with Zoe’s House

3 cups whole wheat flour

2 teaspoons garlic powder

½ cup bacon fat (melted)

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 beaten egg

1 cup fat free milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all ingredients and roll into desired shapes. Roll on floured surface to ½ inch thickness. Line biscuits on baking sheet and bake approximately 30 minutes, turning after 15-20 minutes. Let rest after oven is turned off until biscuits are crunchy. Makes 3 dozen with a 3 inch bone-shaped biscuit cutter.

Oatmeal Bones

Submitted by Deb Brubaker

1 egg

½ cup vegetable oil

½ cup water

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 ½ cups quick-cooking oats, uncooked

In a large bowl, mix all ingredients. Knead dough on a floured surface. Roll out dough to ½ inch thickness and cut out shapes with a dog bone cookie cutter. Put cookies on a baking sheet, 1 inch apart. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. When done, the cookies should be firm to the touch. Turn oven off and leave the cookies in for 1-2 hours to harden. Makes approximately 60 2-inch cookies.

Bacon Biscuits—4^th place

Submitted by Keara and Kaela Finnegan

6 bacon strips

1 ½ cup water

2 ½ cups wheat germ

1 ½ cups flour

1/8 cup oil

4 eggs

Brew Biscuits

2 cups spent grain

1 cup flour

1 cup peanut butter

1 egg

Roll and flatten to ¾ inch thickness. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes. Reduce temperature to 225 degrees and cook until dry, about 8 hours.

4-Pawed Pizza Balls

Submitted by canines Winter and Wyatt

Step 1—prepare the meat filling

1.      Fry one pound seasoned ground meat until thoroughly cooked.

2.      Drain free of oil.

3.      Set aside.

Step 2—prepare dough

1.      Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2.      Add the following ingredients to a bowl and use a mixer to combine:

a.       2 cups rice flour

b.      1/3 cup milk

c.       1 egg

d.      5 Tbsp butter

e.       6 oz. can of tomato paste

f.       ½ cup shredded cheese

3.      Add meat and roll into 1 inch balls and place on non-greased cookie sheet

4.      Bake for 12 minutes.

5.      After cooling, seal and store in refrigerator.

Frosted Honey Apple Dog Cakes

1 large apple

1 ½ cups whole wheat flour

¼ cup whole grain oatmeal

2 tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

½ cup plain yogurt

½ cup water

¼ cup corn oil

2 Tbsp honey

2 eggs

1 cup grated cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease muffin tins. In one bowl, core, slice and mince apple (use a food processor if you have one). In another large bowl, mix together flour, oatmeal, baking powder, and baking soda. In a medium bowl, blend together yogurt, water, oil, honey, and eggs, then stir in apple and cheese. Add to flour mixture until combined. Spoon into muffin tins, filling each cup about ¾ full. Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the muffin comes out clean. Let rest in the muffin tins for 10 minutes, remove, and set aside to cool.

Frosting:

8 oz. low fat cream cheese (room temperature)

2 Tbsp plain yogurt

2 Tbsp honey

2-3 Tbsp whole wheat flour

Combine cream cheese, honey, and yogurt until smooth. Add enough flour to thicken the frosting to a good spreading consistency.

Honey Barbeque Biscuits

2 ½ cups whole wheat flour

½ cup corn meal

½ cup wheat germ

½ Sweet Baby Ray’s barbeque sauce

3 Tbsp light brown sugar

2 Tbsp corn oil

1 egg beaten

½ cup water

¼ cup honey

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine flour, cornmeal, wheat germ, and brown sugar. In another bowl, combine all other ingredients, then slowly add to first bowl, mixing well. Roll dough to ½ inch thickness and cut with cookie cutters. Place on non-stick cookie sheet and bake 20-25 minutes.

Frosted Honey-Nut Lover’s Biscuits

3 cups whole wheat flour

2 Tbsp corn oil

½ cup peanut butter

1 cup water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all ingredients but the flour, mixing well. Slowly add flour, then knead. Depending on your peanut butter, you may need to add additional flour or water. Roll dough to ¼ inch thickness and cut with a cookie cutter. Place on non-stick cookie sheet and back 20-25 minutes.

Frosting:

8 oz low fat cream cheese (at room temperature)

2 Tbsp plain yogurt

2 Tbsp honey

2-3 Tbsp whole wheat flour

2-3 drops food coloring (optional)

Combine cream cheese, honey, and yogurt until smooth. Add enough flour to thicken the frosting to a good spreading consistency. Add food coloring if desired.

Rocko’s Favorite Biscuits

Submitted by Rebecca Stahl

2 apples

4 strips turkey bacon

½ cup cheddar cheese

5 cups wheat flour

3 eggs

1 cup milk

4 Tbsp olive oil

1 pinch wheat germ

1 pinch cinnamon

Roll out dough and cut with your favorite cookie cutters. Back at 375 degrees for 25 minutes.

Julia’s Favorite Biscuits

Submitted by Susan Tyson

1 pound liver

1 cup powdered mashed potatoes

1 tsp garlic powder

Put all ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth. If too thick, add water. Spread mixture onto a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper, spreading to an even thickness. Bake at 200 degrees for at least 2 hours or until dry. Let sit in the oven until completely cool. Divide or cut into desired sizes.