Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Smelly Horse Treats

Hank decided to add a little drama to the holiday weekend by coming up lame. He has a bad knee and reinjured it doing who-knows-what on Saturday. He's been confined to the infirmary pen since then and is making a rapid recovery, to my great relief. But it pains me to see him in pain, so I've been doing whatever I can to keep him comfortable and happy during his convalescence.

Justina had posted a recipe for horse treats awhile back, which she had received from C in WI. I had never gotten around to making them, but Hank's solitary confinement seemed like the perfect excuse to whip up a batch.

I was going to go all food-blogger on you and post step-by-step instructions for making Paco's Favorite Treats, but my kitchen was trashed in no time. For a recipe with only four ingredients, I'm amazed at the mess I made. I blame it all on the smell of the molasses. It stinks. Unless you're a horse, you will not be tempted to lick the spoon.

Paco's Favorite Treats
1 cup bran cereal, smashed
1 cup grated carrots
1 cup molasses
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

Mix together, standing as far away from bowl as possible to avoid the fumes. Drop teaspoon of dough on greased baking sheet. Flatten with fork and sprinkle with sugar (like Peanut Butter cookies). Bake at 350 for 15 min. Unless you're one of those people who likes the smell of molasses, go outside while these are in the oven. Makes about 4 dozen.

Here are the treats, stinking up the kitchen on their way into the oven:
I suppose I could have left off the sprinkled sugar, but they smelled so bad, I was afraid Hank might not like them. The sugar was insurance that my baking efforts and trashed kitchen would not be in vain.


Ok, Hank, see what you think of these. I think they smell funky but what do I know?
No, Hank, you may not have another one. Now wipe that smile off your face.
I don't care if they're the best treats you've ever tasted, we've got to save some for later.

Yes, you do have to share them with George and Alan.

Don't you dare hurt yourself again just so I'll make more!


For the record, as much as Hank loves these treats, George and Alan love them even more. I think I actually saw them jumping up and down when they got their first whiff.

Here are the cookies stinking up the refrigerator. Have I told you I hate the smell of molasses?
But they do look good in the new bowl, which I won from petsblogroll.com, a new community of pet bloggers. Click on the link for more information about adding your pet blog to the group.

p.s. Blogger is doing something weird with comments this morning - if you add one and it doesn't appear, Blogger may have swallowed it temporarily.

30 comments:

  1. Molasses does it's own unique smell ... whew! ..., but doesn't most animal feed have some added, so between that and the carrots I assume that is what makes your guys go wild.

    So glad Hank is doing better!

    So what did Carson make for herself as a reward for being such a good caretaker to Hank? A margarita? A refreshing glass of wine?? An ice cold beer??? I know you did NOT have a cookie! LOL

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  2. I don't mind the smell at all. I think it reminds me of my grandmother's house.

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  3. Heather and Bogart7/6/10, 5:12 AM

    aw come on! Hank deserved an extra one for all his pain this past weekend! Glad to see that his is slowly recovering.

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  4. Hank sure has a face that says :Gimme more!. Lots of sweet in those. I'll make them for Everett. He is crazy for watermelon too.
    Thanks for the recipe...Best always, Sandra

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  5. Ah, the things we do for our favorite pets! Paco sends his best wishes to Hank for a speedy recovery!

    And now I have to make treats for him since you brought up the subject.

    BTW, you can put them in a tin and they store very well in the fridge. Or, you can buy the boys a mini fridge for the barn and store them in there?

    PS/try the lightest molasses you can buy. The blackjack stuff really is yucky for smell.

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  6. When I looked at the ingredients, my heart went out to you, really it did! I also remembered the smell of horse and cow feed and knew your suffering would not be in vain.

    That bowl is 100% awesome. Hank's face to die for. Hope he keeps recovering nicely.

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  7. Wow Hanks face says it all....they must be yummy! So adorable. Hope he is feeling better.

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  8. First sorry Hank is hurt again. Hope he is healing each day.
    And second, am I the only one who loves molasses--the smell, the taste and cooking with them. I put it in my baked beans. Maybe this is way I used to like the smell of "sweet feed" when we used it for the horses.

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  9. I didnot know horses could smile, but Hank sure is!! That make all the effort (and smell) so worthwhile eh?
    signed
    Theresa in Alberta

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  10. Thanks for waking me up this morning with a good laugh!
    Something tells me that you probably wouldn't love my grandma's molasses cookies, huh?
    I like C's suggestion of a mini-fridge for the guys. Heck, they can have their 'man cave'...errrr...equine grotto out in the barn!

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  11. Love that face... looks familiar! :) I've never noticed this before now, but I love the way Hank's upper and lower "lip areas" are two different colors. Makes me just want to kiss him. We're so glad that he's feeling better.

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  12. Oh, I forgot to say that I hope Hank feels better soon! I'm sure the speed of healing is somehow related to the number of smelly horse treats you provide!

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  13. Okay, I'm the weird one in the bunch--I like the smell of molasses. Maybe I'm part equine.

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  14. Love,love,love the pictures of Hank. Glad he's healing quickly. What Mama's do for their kids! Even put up w/stinky smells...

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  15. Aw...poor Hank. I sure hope he's on the mend. He definitely looks like he appreciated your efforts. Maybe I'm weird, but I love the smell of molasses. Thanks for the recipe. My guys will love them!

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  16. Those look like winners in my horse's book. Stinky or not, your hooved babies loved them. This looks like a fun recipe for my daughter & me to try with our nags.
    Cute bowl! Will have to check out that site.
    And yes, I think Blogger is up to no good. No comments working on my blog either.

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  17. Sorry, but the "trashed kitchen" and "smelly molasses" is making me laugh, and I need a laugh today. Glad the critters enjoyed them, I'm sure that made it worthwhile! Love the bowl. :)

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  18. I don't actually mind the smell of molasses. *smile* What a yummy surprise for everyone...I'll bet Wynonna would scarf those back in no time, too. I do hope Hank recovers soon.

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  19. You only give him ONE? I'm reporting you to the ASPCA-horse treat division (Cibolo told me there was a division for horse treats, I'm not sure I believe him).

    You might want to play around with click and treat - when my horses have been confined for what ever reason, it kind of cheers them up. Then they work for their treats, which kind of makes it "training."

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  20. LOVE molasses - taste AND smell -and I DO lick the spoon! - a spoonful of blackstrap molasses has a ton of nutrients particularly the B's (vitamins)...maybe it is one of those love it/hate it things like cilantro...

    But, the main thing is Hank liking it :)!

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  21. Best pictures of a smiling horse ever. Glad Hank's feeling better.

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  22. I love the pictures of Hank smiling! Glad he's doing well. Actually, I've always liked molasses based cookies, but I made a real big mistake trying to make shoo-fly pie (PA dutch) when I was a newlywed. Bought black strap molasses - thought that was the only kind! We couldn't eat it; wish I'd had a horse around.

    Nancy in Iowa

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  23. We make and sell horse treats every year for my 4-H group. The kids love them. I dunno, I like molasses.

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  24. Oh yum...now we need to come up with something that is NO sugar. Little butterball Quaker is most aptly insulin resistant and the S word is definitely not in his vocabulary anymore. NM grazing is looking better and better to me. But to the 7MSN guys...chow down!

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  25. Tell Hank I wish him a speedy recovery, poor guy. And if he is anything like my friend MM, he will ask you not to take his photo from that angle. But he looks just huggable, though.

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  26. I'm sorry Hank got hurt, but happy he got cookies out of it. Funny how we all have smells we love and hate. You are a good mom putting up with a smell you can't abide to treat your boy Hank.

    I am a molasses fan, all kinds, like to put some in baked beans when I make them. Of course I haven't made them for a pretty long time now.

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  27. I love molasses and those cookies sound really good!

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  28. I could fall face first into molasses and love every minute of it. Call me Hank!

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  29. Oh the things we do for our kids!! Hank doesn't appear to be too unhappy right now!

    My dad loved molasses when I was a kid (he probably still does). I never aquired that liking. And we had this dog that had a large freckle on her butt. So we laughed and called it mole - asses! So he always took the label off the molasses and put a new one on there with "Mole - Asses"! hee hee....thought I would share.

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  30. Count me among the women who love molasses, cook and bake with it AND lick the spoon. Its so good for you! In fact this recipe would be as good for humans as it is for the animals, especially if they were a little less than
    "regular".

    Jo

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