For the Love of Food

Howliday Dog Cookie Pops and New Purina Pro Plan Bright Mind Dog Food

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Happy Holidays Y’all or should I say Happy Howlidays?
I wanted to share a recipe I created to give to all the pups I know for Christmas. These Howliday Dog Cookie Pops are simple to make, with just two ingredients, and great for older dogs too since they are soft and chewy. I add a cream cheese frosting and rawhide stick to make them even more festive and tie them up with a bow before giving them away as Christmas Dog Treats!
Scroll down for the recipe. 
Our pups are part of our family and they love Christmas time as much as we do!
Charlie the beagle, who is 10, lives with my parents now since we had the baby.
But sweet Dylan boy, my 7 year old cocker spaniel, lives with us and is everyone’s best friend. He goes to Christmas parades with us, wears his festive sweaters, takes road trips, and of course loves Christmas dog treats and toys. Even though he still looks like a puppy, Dylan is middle aged in doggie years, and I’ve noticed him slowing down and being less interactive with the kids lately.
When Purina asked me to review their new Purina® Pro Plan® Bright Mind™ dog food I was excited! This was just what Dylan needed! It is created for dogs ages 7 and up, like my Dylan, and  it helps them think more like they did when they were younger along with promoting memory, attention, and trainability. If you notice your older dog has less interaction with you and lower engagement in daily activities, Purina® Pro Plan® Bright Mind™ dog food can help! The enhanced botanical oils provide an efficient fuel source for the brain in dogs age 7 and older. Around age 7, the glucose metabolism in a dog’s brain begins to change, which can affect memory, learning, awareness or decision-making. Enhanced botanical oils can be used as additional energy source for the brain. 
Before Dylan was sluggish and didn’t want to play and interact as much but after three weeks of Purina® Pro Plan® Bright Mind™  dog food he is alert and as playful and happy as ever!


There are three varieties available of the Bright Minds food for dogs 7 years and older: Chicken and Rice, Chicken {small breed}, and Chicken {large breed}.
Dylan eats the Chicken and Rice Formula and loves it. 
He eagerly awaits his bowl of food every morning!

I had Dylan before I had both my girls so they have gotten to grow up with him over the last few years. Ava especially loves her Dylan and “pup-pup” was one of her first words!

How amazing is this dog? He loves his girls so much!

Dylan boy has always been his usual happy self but now he is more alert and responsive to us just like when he was younger. We love the change we’ve seen in him since we started Bright Minds dog food three weeks ago. Even better it helps with his skin and coat and his joints as he gets older. We are definitely going to keep using Bright Minds dog food with Dylan so it will continue to help him as he gets older.

Purina Links

Scroll down for my Howliday Dog Cookie Pops recipe. 

Ingredients:

Makes about 6 pops

For the cookies:

  • 4-5 oz container baby food {I used blueberry and apple}
  • 1 cup whole wheat flour
  • 6 rawhide sticks

For the frosting:

  •  2oz cream cheese, softened
  • 1/2 tsp honey
  • 1/2 tsp low fat yogurt {plain or strawberry are good}
  • 1 tbsp flour

Directions: 

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. In a medium bowl mix together baby food and flour until a dough forms .
  3. Form into a flat disc and place on a floured surface.
  4. Roll into about 1/2 inch thickness and cut into desired shapes {I used a dog paw cookie cutter}. 
  5. Lay one cookie down on a lined baking sheet then lay a rawhide stick in the center about halfway up on the cookie. 
  6. Lay another cookie on top and press to seal the edges.
  7. I use my fingers to make indentions on each paw to frost later.
  8. Repeat with remaining cookies and rawhide sticks.
  9. Bake for 15 minutes until cooked through but still soft.
  10. Let cook completely before frosting.
  11. For the frosting:  mix the cream cheese, honey, and yogurt together in a bowl.
  12. Add flour and stir until smooth and slightly thick.
  13. You can simply frosting the top of each cookie or you can scoop the frosting into a piping or plastic baggie and pipe dog paw prints on each cooled cookie.
  14. Let the frosting dry and store covered in the fridge for up to a week.
In a medium bowl mix together baby food and flour. 
Stir until a dough forms .
Form into a flat disc and place on a floured surface.
Roll into about 1/2 inch thickness and cut into desired shapes 
{I used a dog paw cookie cutter}. 
Lay one cookie down on a lined baking sheet. 
Then lay a rawhide stick in the center about halfway up on the cookie.
Lay another cookie on top.
Press to seal the edges.
I use my fingers to make indentions on each paw to frost later.
Repeat with remaining cookies and rawhide sticks.
Bake for 15 minutes until cooked through but still soft.
Let cook completely before frosting.
Now it’s time to make the frosting. No sugar is added, just honey,
and I always try to use low fat products. 
Mix the cream cheese, honey, and yogurt together in a bowl.
Mix until smooth.
Add flour and stir until smooth and slightly thick.
You can simply frosting the top of each cookie or 
you can scoop the frosting into a piping or plastic baggie as I did here and 
pipe dog paw prints on each cooled cookie.
For the paw prints do 4 dots at the top.
And then an arch for the paw pad. 
Let the frosting dry and store covered in the fridge for up to a week.
Dylan is going to love his Howliday Dog Cookie Pops under the tree this year! 
You can wrap in cellophane and tie with a ribbon and give as gifts to all the pups
 you know this Christmas! 

Ava couldn’t wait- we had to give him one early!
Such a good boy! 
We are so glad he is back to his energetic and happy self thanks
 to Purina® Pro Plan® Bright Mind™ dog food!
 We love you Dylan!
This post is sponsored by Pro Plan BRIGHT MIND and the BlogPaws® Pet Influencer Network. I am being compensated for helping enrich the lives of senior dogs, but we only share information we feel is relevant to our readers. Pro Plan BRIGHT MIND is not responsible for the content of this article.

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  4. petcarehq.wordpress.com

    Any outsider would think this to be crazy, but only the people who have grown up eating those special cookies cooked by grandma would appreciate the real value of that glimpse of a cookie jar. It is almost magical – the effect that brings water to your mouths like in the case of that classical conditioning experiment with the dog.

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