I love a solstice sunrise walk. Today, we’ll lace up and take the dog out for a long glide in the ravine or by the waterfront. We’re happily equidistant from both trails! And we’ll bring along a few of the 3-Ingredient Dog Biscuits we make monthly for our dog, Nimue. I love these, because if you happen to mistakenly “eat the dog treat” in your pocket, you’re in for a naturally sweetened cookie (i.e. none the worse for wear).

Then, we’ll start a fire and think about ways to extend this shortest day of the year with light, or additional acts of light, as the case may be. It might be a good day for singing.

Here’s a copy of the Doggie Biscuit recipe I finally added to the Cooking Page this morning.

Print Recipe

Dog Stars: 3-Ingredient Doggie Biscuits

Servings: 30

Ingredients

• 2½ cups rolled oats
• 2 overripe bananas
• ½ cup peanut butter [just peanuts, no sugar or sugar-substitutes]

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 325℉.
• Line two baking sheets with parchment.
• In the bowl of a food processor, grind ½ cup of the oats into a flour.
• Remove these oats from the bowl and set aside in a medium-to-large mixing bowl.
• In the bowl of the food processor, grind the remaining 2 cups of oats into a flour.
• Add the bananas and the peanut butter and run the processor on high until the ingredients are completely pulverized into a sticky paste or dough.
• Use a spoon or spatula to transfer the cookie dough into the mixing bowl of reserved oats.
• Stir to combine. Mixture will still be fairly sticky.
• Roll the dough between two sheets of parchment or waxed paper to ¼-inch thickness.
• Use a sharp, firm cookie cutter to cut the biscuits into cute little shapes. Obviously, we used stars, here. Place cut-outs onto the parchment lined pan.
• Roll all remaining scraps into a ball and re-roll the dough between the parchment, cutting biscuits as needed until you've used all of the dough.
• Bake biscuits one sheet at a time on the centre rack of the oven, for 20-25 minutes or until the edges just begin to look golden brown. You'll want to check for browning at the 18 minute mark and every 1-2 minutes thereafter.
• Allow the biscuits to cool in their pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Then remove the pan but not the parchment and cool on the wire rack until the biscuits are completely set.
• Enjoy!

Notes

Store these biscuits in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

Cooked biscuits may also be frozen for up to 3 months. 

ON THIS DAY

2024: Burning the Clocks: Solstice Sunrise Walk with a Thermos Wassail
2023: Urban Forest Bathing in Black and White
2022: Forest Bathing and Fireside Sketching
2021: Support the David Suzuki Foundation and the Daily Bread Food Bank
2020: Two-Colour Linocuts
2019: Sketch a Winter Window Scene
2018: Holiday Beatnik Coffee House
2017: At-Home Spa Day
2016: Double Chocolate Cookies with Andes Mints
2015: Give to the Daily Bread Food Bank
2014: Read and Illustrate Much Ado About Nothing, Acts III-V
2013: Make Chocolate Chocolate Chip Crinkle [Kringle] Cookies, Pfeffernüsse, and Other Old Favourites
2012: Order Fish & Chips and Watch The Bishop’s Wife
2011: Elvis Dog and Reindeer Cookies