I have always been a dog person. Sorry to disappoint my cat loving friends but there is something simply irresistible about dogs. The fluff, the woof, the wag. The joyful leap they make towards you at the end of a long day. That grin when they destroy your beloved possessions and get away with it just because.

For me, the one thing that gets me about travel is the inability to bring your fluffy friends with you. My first dog Lisa the Akita died young (the drama queen in me likes to think it was from heartache) when my family immigrated to Canada. My dachshund who I left behind for college is now retired in Shanghai after many moves, travels, and change of homes. The family discussions, tearful goodbyes, and a little canine who will faithfully wag their tail serving whichever master they end up with.

This post is dedicated to all the dogs I have ever loved and photographed. A dog photo book is the list for projects I want to create and I trust that I am getting close to the process everyday. In the meantime, I will be content making dog shaped cookies.

This is a recipe adapted from Not quite Nigella and Baking Taitai. It is actually a recipe for Weihnachtsplätzchen — German sugar cookies eaten during advent. I love the addition of potato starch which gives the cookie a very biscuit-like texture. Good for convincing yourself you are eating vegetables when having a cookie too many.

These cookies can be time consuming cookie to make. My advice is to invite at least one friend to help with dough rolling, the application of cereal ears and sesame eyes. The end product is meant to be shared with at least four friends.

Dog shaped cookies for dog lovers
*Makes around 20 cookies 

Ingredients

• 1.5 cup flour
• 2 cup potato starch
• 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2/3 cup icing sugar
• 1 cup unsalted butter
• Chocolate cereal for ears (I found a box at Wholefoods in Vancouver)
• Black sesame seeds for eyes
• Baking chocolate chips for noses

Directions

1. Combine butter and sugar (wet ingredients). Beat until fluffy. Add vanilla and beat until combined.
2. Combine potato starch and plain flour (dry ingredients). Mix until combined.
3. Thoroughly mix dry and wet ingredients. If the mixture is too dry, add a few splashes of regular or oat milk. Cover with wrap and rest for half an hour or longer (I pre-make the dough and leave it in the fridge)
4. Line a baking tray with baking paper. Scoop dough into similar-sized balls and flatten them onto the surface of the tray. Add two chocolate cereal ears and a chocolate chip nose. Use a tweezer to add sesame seed eyes (this step requires a lot of patience)
5. Bake at 340F for 15 minutes or until cookie bottoms are golden.

Notes: 

*For cocoa cookies, add a scoop of cocoa powder into the dough and mix until the colors are combined.  Additionally, you can expand from dog cookies to every kind of animal. 

Enjoy