Cheesy Dog Cookies

Cheesy homemade dog cookies — great for training or for gifting to your fur friends!

So you've made all these goodies for your family and friends; but what about your fur friends?

We recently welcomed a new addition to our house — a bouncing bundle of fur and teeth who requires A LOT of training. Like, a metric ton of training. And all that training requires a LOT of treats. Like a metric ton of treats!

Our bouncing bundle of shark puppy — he requires a lot of training!

I was not feeling great about buying treats from the store. I needed so many, and the decently-made cookies were expensive. The cheap ones? Who knows what's in those. Yuck. With these cheesy homemade dog cookies, at least I know exactly what's in them. And I can adjust the recipe slightly if a friend's pooch has any food allergies. And the best part? Dogs LOVE them!

Let me know in the comments if your pup loves them, too!

Rich Chocolate Fudge

Oh chocolate fudge, how I do love you. You are creamy. You are rich. You make me hide batches of you around the house so no one but me knows where you are. I am a squirrel in your presence.

No fudge here – move along.

We made fudge a lot when I was a kid. In fact, that original fudge recipe is on this blog, and you can find it here. It doesn't quite taste the same, however, because I think the manufacture of marshmallows has changed since then. When I stumbled upon this variation, I was ecstatic! This tastes exactly how I remember it from childhood! It really is very, very close to the original. I know you will love it, too.

A quick note about marshmallows — do not use old marshmallows, where the bag has been open for awhile. Trust me, freshly opened bags of marshmallows really do make a difference.

Rich Chocolate Fudge
Based on this recipe from Nestlé

Ingredients
3 cups white sugar
1 can evaporated milk
1/4 cup butter
4 cups miniature marshmallows
24 oz chopped bittersweet chocolate
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Method

1. Line two 8-inch-square baking pans with foil and set aside.
2. Combine sugar, evaporated milk, and butter in large saucepan. Bring to a full rolling boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil, stirring constantly, for 4 to 5 minutes. Time it! Remove from heat.
3. Stir  in marshmallows, chopped chocolate, and vanilla extract. Stir vigorously for 1 minute or until marshmallows are melted. Pour into prepared pans. Refrigerate for 2 hours or until firm. Lift from pan; remove foil. Cut into pieces. Store tightly covered in refrigerator.