Countdown to Halloween 2013 - Black Cat Theme

For the Black Cat theme on the Countdown to Halloween 2013, we made Howl-oween Hairball Helpers for our cats. The recipe was from a clipping I had in my file. However, I found the pin on Pinterest which led to the online version of the recipe.

Olivia breaking the treats into smaller pieces for Lucy.

He liked the treats, and wanted to have more.

 It's very easy with only four ingredients:

1/4 cup flour
1 5 ounce can tuna in water (do not drain!)
2 tablespoons canned pure pumpkin puree
1 teaspoon dried catnip

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees . In a bowl, combine all the ingredients, mixing until a dough forms.

Olivia mixing the ingredients for the cat treats.

Using floured hands, pinch off bite-size pieces of dough (about 1/4 teaspoon each) and place on lightly-greased cookie sheets.

Bake until lightly browned and crisp, about 20 minutes. Refrigerate in an airtight container until ready to use.

The finished cat treats.

Supposedly the recipe's yield is 7 to 8 dozen. Had we baked the dough for the recommended time and made 7-8 dozen, the cat treats would have burned. Rather, we made fewer treats and then break them into small pieces when we give them to the cats.

Out of the five cats, Eenie, Lucy, and Maggie like the treats the best.

Eenie devouring the cat treats.

Meenie licked them, but didn't them.

Meenie licking the cat treats.

Shadow smelled them and walked away.

Shadow...the picky eater...didn't care for the treats.

He's not a big treat eater, though, so that doesn't come as a surprise.

*~*~*~*~*~*

We also made the dough for black-cat cookies that we made last year. It needed to sit in the refrigerator for a couple hours before the dough could be rolled out and cookies baked. By the time two hours passed, it was around dinner time and we didn't feel like making the cookies. We will at a later date.

Sophia mixing the cookie dough.

This is the recipe we used:

Ingredients:

2 cups sugar
1 cup butter, softened
3 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla
3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
Candy corn
Red cinnamon candies

Directions:

Combine sugar and butter in large bowl; beat at medium speed until well mixed. Add 1 egg at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla; beat until well mixed.

Combine all remaining ingredients except candies in medium bowl. Reduce speed to low; add flour mixture to butter mixture. Beat until well mixed.

Divide dough in half. Shape each half into a ball; flatten to 1/2 inch. Wrap each half in plastic food wrap. Refrigerate until firm (at least 2 hours).

Heat oven to 350°F. Roll out dough on lightly floured surface, one-half at a time (keeping remaining dough refrigerated), to 1/4-inch thickness. Cut with 3-inch round cookie cutters. Place onto ungreased cookie sheets. (Note: Last year we lined cookie sheets with parchment paper for easier clean up.)

Using fingers, pinch up ears at top of each circle. Place 2 pieces candy corn onto cookies for eyes and 1 red cinnamon candy for nose. Press tines of fork on each side of cookie below eyes to form whiskers.

Bake for 7 to 9 minutes or until cookies are set. Let cool 1 minute on cookie sheet; remove to wire cooling rack.