Homemade Grain-Free and Egg-Free Flyball Speed Boost Bones

In preparation for the shelter's dog sports demo day over the weekend, our flyball team, the Flying Underdogs, decided to jazz up our booth at the event with fancy team flyers and some homemade dog treats and recipe cards.  I was put in charge of baking the treats, so I knew that I'd need a yummy recipe that was grain-free to accommodate all of the doggies who would be visiting our booth.

Our table at the sports demo day

Grain-free homemade treat recipes are hard to come by online.  I scoured Pinterest for grain-free treat recipes that had limited ingredients and that also didn't contain egg, since many dogs are also allergic to eggs (we still don't know if that's one of Athena's triggers, so we avoid it).  I finally found an awesome recipe here, but it called for an egg, so I did some further research on dog-friendly egg substitutes.  Just for your reference if you ever want to substitute egg in homemade dog treats:

one egg = 1 T ground flaxseed + 3 T water

Bean waiting to try a speed boost bone!

This egg substitution sounded PERFECT to me since flaxseed is not a grain and has many health benefits for dogs.  As far as the grain-free part of this treat recipe, garbanzo bean flour is called for instead of wheat flour.  Athena has had treats made with garbanzo bean flour (like her favorite STAM treats), so I knew that this recipe would be good for her sensitive tummy!  Garbanzo bean flour is also very high in protein, so these treats were perfect to bring along for a long hard working day of flyball!

Here's the recipe:

The recipe cards that we handed out at the sports demo

Here are some photos of the treat-making process:

4 thick slices are sizzling away!

Bean always hangs out in the kitchen when there's bacon cooking

I rolled out the dough on floured parchment paper just so there wouldn't be any sticking

Look at those big chunks of bacon in there!  YUM!

Rolling out the dough in preparation to cut with my cookie cutter

Straight out of the oven!

Not only are these treats yummy, they are pretty too!

Of course, Athena has to perform a solid "leave-it" in order to enjoy her treat

I was so impressed with this treat recipe (I actually made 3 batches for the demo) and the dough turned out great every time even with the garbanzo bean flour and egg substitute.  Just an FYI, I poured the bacon fat into my dough mixture while it was still hot (I let it cool off of the burner for about five minutes before pouring it into the mixture) which helped to melt the shredded cheddar and keep the dough really smooth instead of lumpy.  One batch of dough yielded an entire cookie sheet full of bones.  However, because these bones are homemade and have fresh ingredients, they do need to be stored in the refrigerator.  Athena doesn't mind though, she goes bonkers for these treats!  Every time I get them out of the fridge she stalks me around the house, jumps on me (which is rare) and even gave me a woof!  Oh, and I almost forgot to mention that at least four humans have tried these treats since I made them and everyone agrees that they are actually pretty tasty.  They would make great crackers to pair with some cheese!

Have you ever attempted a homemade grain-free treat recipe?