Crunchy Beef Liver Treats with Yogurt Coating

If you enjoy making treats for your dogs you will love this easy versatile recipe. I use the base of this recipe to make cookies, hard treats, cupcakes and muffins just by changing the amounts of the ingredients.

I make these for my dogs and my clients dogs and all of them get so excited when they see my treats, to date  not one dog has turned these treats down.

Ingredients:
1 lb beef or chicken liver
1 egg
1/2 cup water
1 cup corn meal
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup wheat germ

Yogurt Coating
1 small container plain natural yogurt (you can use any fat content. Higher the fat content the less opaque the coating will be.
1/4 tsp vegetable oil
1/4 tsp Guar Gum (you can get this at Bulk Barns or any health food store)
1 tbs corn syrup or honey
1 to 2 tbs non-instant skim milk powder
Gel or powdered food color ( favorite colors)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Boil or steam the liver until fully cooked (no pink). Rinse under cold water until fully cooled. Add liver and egg in a food processor and liquefy; add water slowly, you do not want the liver mixture to runny.

In a large bowl, add corn meal, flour, wheat germ and mix together. Next add liver mixture to the flour and stir until it forms into a dough.  Continue to mix with your hands and add a little flour at a time to get a workable dough you can roll out.

Roll out the dough to approx 1/4 inch thick and use your favorite cookie cutter. Place cookies on backing sheet and bake at 325o for 35-45 mins or until fully dried. Remove from oven and let cool. Store in zip lock bag or air tight containers.

If you want to decorate your treats with  a yogurt coating follow the directions below:

In a small bowl combine vegetable oil, and corn syrup or honey and mix together. Add guar gum and mix really well and ensure there are no lumps. Next, in a separate add the small container of plain yogurt and mix until smooth.  Add approx 1/4  of the oil and corn syrup mixture to the yogurt and mix very will. You are looking for a shinny, gummy texture that still pours easily. Add a little skim milk powder at a time and mix until completely smooth. Add only enough skim milk powder to thicken your coating so it's thick enough to easily paint or use a squeeze bottle.

Last, separate mixture into different bowls and add desired color then decorate your treats any way you like.  Place decorated treats onto wax paper covered cookie tray to dry.  Air drying takes approx 8-14 hours and oven dry takes approx 1-3 hours.  To oven dry, preheat oven to 150 degrees and place cookie sheet on middle rack to dry. Periodically, check the drying of your treats. Once you can lightly touch them with no sticking to your fingers they can be removed and cooled. Do not store your treats until the coating has completely dried.

Store in zip lock bag or air tight container

I would love to hear how your dogs liked these treats.  If you have any questions or any problems with this recipe, please leave your comments.

Please visit Diamond Delight Canine Catering.