Zuccini Mini-Muffins|Whitneys Veterinary Hospital

Ok!! The zuccini is really rolling in from the garden and you're looking for one more way to use it!! This is a recipe your pups will absolutely Love!! It's a sweet, chewy treat.
Sometimes we forget that they have a sweet tooth too, and they also like a chewy change of pace. This snackie can be frozen to save for a Halloween or Christmas sweet treat. It makes about enough to fill a 1/2 gallon jar.

Grate enough zuccini or other summer squash so that you'll end up with 2 cups after it's drained. Mix the zuccini with 2 Tlb sugar and place in a strainer over a pan to let it drain for about 1/2 hr. It's shocking how much juice drains out of grated zuccini, and you don't need any extra juice for this recipe! You can let it drain while you get the rest of the stuff ready. Right before you add it to the recipe, put it on/in a clean towel and hold it over the sink while you squeeze the rest of the juice out of it.

***Ta! Daaa!! This is where you get to add the zuccini. Let your mixer get it really mixed together before you go on.

Now mix the following dry ingredients together and slowly add them to the above "wet stuff". If you add the dry to the wet too fast, you'll get to clean up a mess!

This should be a pretty stiff dough. About half-way between cake mix and bread dough. If you want to use it for the mini-muffins, let it be a little sloppier. If you want to roll it out and cut it up, you'll need to get it stiffer.

If you decide on the mini-muffins, you'll need to Oil and flour the muffin tins. If you decide to go with "drop cookies", oil and flour the cookie sheets. You'll also need the cookie sheets if you decide on the rolled out style. I usually do some of each type of cookie.

For the mini-muffins: Fill each muffin cup about 1/3 to 1/2 full. The fuller, the longer they'll need to bake. They bake about 25 minutes, or until the toothpick is fairly clean. About like any zuccini bread in doneness. Chewy in the middle.

For the dropped cookies: Drop about 1/2 to 1 tsp on the cookie sheet - about 1/2 inch apart. They can almost touch. I get about 24 per sheet. Bake about 20 - 25 minutes, til they loose their sheen. They should still be chewy in the center.

Now! The rolled-out biscuits. I like to do this one, because I use these for training. This is pretty sticky until you work enough flour into it to roll it out. You'll probably need to turn it out onto a floured towel and work more flour into it. In that case, you'll need:

Cornmeal or flour to keep the dough from sticking while you're rolling it out, and a floured dishtowel or other clean, white cloth - about 30" X 30" - to roll the dough on.
You can use a couple of sheets of waxed paper to roll it out, but I find it's easier to keep a couple of dishtowels dedicated to rolling cookies, etc out. That way, I can just shake them out over a garbage can and throw them in the washer. Sometimes the waxed paper isn't big enough, or it tears and makes a bigger mess; and I am totally against cleaning up any more messes than necessary! Roll your sleeves up and go to it! You can either do it on the cloth or you can add the flour to the bowl and "mush" it in with your balled up fist. Either way, you'll eventually need to finish it by working it on the floured towel.

After it's ready, roll it out on the floured towel to about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. The thinner, the better. You may find it easier to separate the mass of dough into sections.

Use a cookie cutter to make bone shapes - if you want. I usually use a pizza cutter and cut it into 1/2 to 1" strips. I like to lightly "score" them in the other direction. I cut them completely apart in pieces about the size of my spatula, so I can pick them up and transfer them to the baking sheet easier. It's really, really tedious to move all of those tiny snackies one at a time. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes. You'll want them to be slightly brown and crisp.I spread them on another clean cloth on the counter to cool them.

Have a couple of hot pads ready to set the sheet on when you bring it out of the oven, and be careful that your pet doesn't get over-eager and knock the sheet from your hands while you're getting it from the oven. As you make more and more snackies for your "buddy", they get more and more excited when they see you get the baking supplies out; and they really don't understand why they can't have the goodies instantly. You have to protect them from themselves!

Ok! Enough of the "safety soapbox, on to: storage. I store anything that's chewy in covered containers in the refrigerator, or in a storage bag in the freezer. I figure that the moisture can encourage mold, and that's neither pleasant nor safe for your dog to eat. If you wouldn't eat it, don't feed it to your "best buddy"!

When I'm training my dog, I frequently hold a snackie between my teeth, (so that my hands can be free), for a couple of seconds. These are very mildly sweet.

*a---You can use any un-flavored yogert, but why add any more calories than necessary?
*b---Just add them and let the mixer do it's job.
*c---Do Not use cocoa I usually find carob at a health food store. If more of us start making dog snackies, maybe the regular grocery stores will start carrying it.
*d---Do not use artifical sweetener. Recent studies have shown that artifical sweeteners can damage a dog's liver. The calories that you may save aren't worth it.

Whitney Veterinary Hospital Hours:
Mon-Fri: 7:30AM - 5:30PM - Sat : 7:45AM-12:00
309-685-4707 -- 309-685-4715

Our Snackie recipes - Zuccini Mini Muffins!