Petit Four Legs Products NOT Affected By Peanut Recall

We wanted to assure you that our treats are NOT affected by the recent FDA peanut recall. Since we bake all our treats in a small commercial kitchen - not a factory - and we do not outsource any of our production, our products do not contain peanut paste and have not been affected. We hve also been in contact with our ingredient providers to ensure that the ingredients we're using are safe.

Please don't hesitate to let us know if you have any questions.

Plan Your Own Puppy Bowl

Thanks to the Animal Planet for this great guide on how to throw your own Puppy Bowl:
http://animal.discovery.com/tv/puppy-bowl/tailgate-party/tailgate-party.html

Quarterly Recipe - Chocolate Truffle Cookies

In the first newsletter of the new year we just sent out, we added in a human recipe. Why a human recipe in a dog treat newsletter? Since our company was started by a professional pastry chef we constantly have sweet human treats in the office. Most Monday's our head chef comes into the office with something she baked up for the staff. So we figured we should share the goodies (and the stories behind them) with you.

Chocolate Truffle Cookies
(first the story behind them)Seattle is, undoubtedly, the land of coffee shops and there is one near our office where we go when we need a break or a change of venue to brainstorm. In addition to having fantastic coffee they also have delicious treats that are all made onsite. One of these treats - a chocolate truffle cookie - has become a staff favorite but at $2.50/cookie, it can start to add up over time (we can sometimes spend a lot of time at this coffee shop!). So our head chef got it in her mind that she was going to figure out the recipe. And, low and behold, after several weeks of experimenting at home, she did!

Chocolate Truffle Cookie Recipe: (approx 36 cookies)
4 oz unsweetened chocolate
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
6 Tbl unsalted butter
3 eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 TBL unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1. In a microwave or a bowl placed over a pan of simmering water, melt unsweetened chocolate, 1 cup chocolate chips, and butter until smooth. Remove from heat and set aside to cool. In a large bowl, whip eggs and sugar for about two minutes until thick and pale. Stir in vanilla and chocolate mixgture until well mixed. In a seperate bowl, combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt; gradually stir into the chocolate mix. Fold in remaining 1 cup chocolate chips. Cover dough and chill for one hour.
2. After dough has chilled, remove from fridge and, using a medium-zied ice cream scoop, scoop out dough balls. Place dough balls on a baking tray covered with wa or parchment paper. Place baking sheet and dough balls into the freezer for one hour.
3. If cookies are to be eaten immediately, preheat over to 350 degreesF (175 degreesC), place on ungreased baking sheet, and bake 15-22 minutes. Allow cookies to cool 5 minutes on baking sheet before eating.
4. Alternatively, cookies can be stored frozen and baked a little at a time as needed. In this case, remove dough balls from the baking sheet in the freezer and store in a plastic zip-lock bag. When ready to bake, follow instructions in Step 3.

Ringing In The New Year

It's the new year and with that we're ringing in some big changes for 2009.

For our retailers we have a new quarterly newsletter that's getting ready to go out the door first thing tomorrow morning. It's full of fun and informative articles to keep you up to date with what we're working on. Plus it also has a special recipe from our co-founder and professional pastry chef. We figure it can't just be the dogs who are having all the fun! (We'll also post a copy of the recipe here).

We also have several new products planned for this year. Can't say too much about them yet but we're really excited. More to come on that later in the year!