Tasty Treat Tuesday- Pumpkin Chews

The weather here has cooled off and pumpkins are all over! The Max-monster loves pumpkin and it's so good for him so I've been playing with different recipes for treats. I bought a pie pumpkin I'm using for today's chews and Aldi's had cans of puree for $1 each so I picked up 6!

Pumpkin is a funny thing. First I tried to make a shortbread style cookie but there were some challenges. There's so much water in canned puree that my first attempt at cookies was a disaster! I used garbanzo bean flour and had to add a ton to absorb the water for not a lot of flavor. Max ate them but Sweetheart and I didn't think they were worth the work.

After much frustration I decided to get back to basics. The pie pumpkin needed to be used and Max needed treats. I turned, once again, to oven dehydrating. Oven dehydrating isn't hard, it's just more about process and "low and slow" to turn something fresh into something shelf-stable by removing the water. Let me be the first to encourage you to grab your food dehydrator or consider investing in one. Mine melted so I'm using the oven.

First you want to peel your pumpkin. I used a peeler but you could do it with a knife if you're good like that.







Then cut the pumpkin in half and gut it. Keep the seeds for human treats if you want.

Quarter your pumpkin and then slice it thinly. Lay the slices out on a baking tray, preferably on a rack. You can dehydrate without a rack, it'll just take a little longer. I sprinkled mine (Max's) with cinnamon and sugar.

Let the slices sit in a very low oven (about 150 degrees or "warm" setting) with the oven door cracked for 4-6 hours until the slices are very leathery but not brittle. Store airtight on a countertop. If you have a silica packet to absorb any leftover moisture, feel free to throw it into the storage container. 

That's all there is to oven dehydrating and you can make all kinds of snacks that you and your dog will both love!




If you enjoyed this recipe, check out the rest of the Tasty Tuesday posts with Kohls Notes and Sugar the Golden Retriever!