“Hi, Allen,” I greeted my sweet furry companion. We’re going to make some easy treats for kitties today, and they are called Tuna Meringue Cookies for Cats.”

“Toona? Really? Kiki, Come here and check this out!” In a flash, Allen’s twin, Kiki was by my side, too.

“We’ll help make them,” Allen enthused, wiggling his little self in preparation for a jump onto the counter.

Image attributions: unsplash/alicja-gancarz

“How about you two sit and watch from the chair. You can give me advice while I’m making them.”

As always, they grumbled a bit at this suggestion, then quickly settled themselves on the chair nearest the counter…so they could quickly jump over and help if the need arose.

Image attributions: pexels/arina-krasnikova
Image attributions: border by rawpixel

“Since these treats will be baked,” I told them, “the oven will have to be pre-heated to 330. Then a cookie sheet should be lined with a sheet of parchment paper. We’re also going to need a mixing bowl, an electric mixer or a wire whisk, a spoon to use to mix things, a blender, a spatula, and either a small spoon or a pastry bag to use to drop the cookies onto the cookie sheet.”

“Gee, Mom, wouldn’t it be easier to just open that crinkly bag of treats and give us some?”

Image attributions: unsplash/scott webb (cat in chair); “Treats” by ehpien is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

“Well, yes, but this way we can be sure of what goes into them.”

“These cookies are made with only two ingredients, requiring no flour at all. We will need the white of one egg and one drained 4- or 5-ounce can of water-packed, low-soduim (Unsalted) tuna.*,**

            *Note #1: [Tuna, being a salt-water fish, always naturally contains some salt. One source of tuna with no added salt is StarKist Selects® Chunk White Albacore Tuna in Water. However, albacore tends to have more mercury than the chunk light tunas, which are from a smaller species of tuna. SafeCatch light tuna is lower in mercury and also low in salt. This is not an ad, just information. There may also be others.]
            **Note #2: [It is also possible to find salmon with low mercury and no added salt. One such brand is Safe Catch. It would probably work as well as tuna in this recipe.]
“Yay, yay, toona!” I could hear Kiki muttering.

“I don’t know about the egg part,” said Allen. “Aren’t eggs bad for cats?”

Image attributions: pexels/arina-krasnikova cat); unsplash/jiangxulei (eggs)

“Raw eggs might not be safe for cats, but these treats will be baked, so the eggs will be cooked and that should be OK for you to eat.”

“The recipe calls for separating the egg and discarding the yolk, or saving it to use it in something else.”

Image attributions: unsplash/daneil tuttle (chicken); pexels/los Muertos crew (egg separation)

“Put the white of the egg into a mixing bowl, and beat it with an electric mixer, or, if you have enough energy, with a wire whisk, until stiff peaks form.”

As I began to do this, Kiki commented, “Well, I guess that would be hard for me to do, not having opposable thumbs on my lovely furry paws.” She stretched out her paw and slowly licked it.

Image attributions: pexels/ engin-akyurt

As soon as I started the mixer, both cats jumped down and ran into the other room. They’re not much for noisy appliances.

The egg whites seemed to be peak-y enough when I lifted up the beater from the bowl, so I set that bowl aside.

I opened and drained the can of tuna, saving the liquid for a cat treat for later. The cats’ curiosity was working full tilt, and shortly, I saw them pad their way back into the kitchen. Unfortunately, I then brought out the blender. “This noise shouldn’t last too long,” I told them.

“The next step is to put the drained tuna unto a blender and add a couple of tablespoons of the beaten egg white in with it. Blend it until the ingredients form a smooth paste.”

As soon as I started the blender, both cats held their paws over their ears and howled. “Stop it! Stop that horrible noise! It sounds worse than the vacuum cleaner monster!”

Image attributions: pexels/natalie

I’m kind of surprised the kitties didn’t jump down and run into the bedroom and under the bed. Maybe the scent of tuna kept them here this time. As soon as the racket stopped, both cats were very interested in climbing back onto the counter, now that they smelled their much-dreamed-about fish.

“Wait, please. You’ll have some soon enough.”

“Soon enough is not the same for you as it is for me,” Allen shot back.

“I have to use a spatula to scrape the tuna mixture from the blender, and VERY GENTLY, fold it into the remainder of the egg-white,” I told them.

I scraped up the mixture from the bowl and filled the pastry bag, putting a star-shaped tip on it. Then, I pushed out kitty-bite-sized dollops onto the parchment paper-lined cookie sheet. (If you don’t have a pastry bag, you can either make one from a zipper-type plastic bag, cutting a small hole in the corner to use as a nozzle, or use a small spoon to measure the treats onto the pan.) Each cookie should probably contain no more than a rounded teaspoon of dough.

Image attributions: pexels/jenna hamra (paw); “plain sheet of cookies” by starrwitness is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0

“These need to bake for 20 – 25 minutes, or until they feel dry to the touch and come off the parchment easily.” I followed my own directions and set the pan of Pootie Meringues on top of the stove.

A few minutes later, I scooped them up and moved them onto a cooling rack. “When they are no longer hot, they can be put into an airtight jar, and can be stored in the refrigerator for between one and two weeks,” I told the furries.

Image attributions: Apricot Cat/PAC (jar of cat cookies); unsplash/Fernanda matos (cat)

“Hey, Mom, Wait a minute!” The cry came from the chair. “You forgot a step!”

“Huh? What did I forget?”

“You forgot the step about giving some of them to your favorite kitties to munch on.”

“Ah, yes, of course.” I gave each of them a treat.

“Yummy,” said Kiki, licking her face. How about another?”

Image attributions: pexels/cottonbro studio

“Okay, but you know that treats are not for eating in place of your other food.”

“Of course. “Allen turned to Kiki. Did I just see him wink?

“And you, Allen, do you want another one, too?”

“You know, Mom,” he mewed, “These are a bit weird. But they are pretty good, too. So, yes, please, I’ll have another one, too.”

Image attributions: Apricot Cat/MVK (cat);PAC (treat);unsplash/ julua zolotova (hand)

I closed the lid on the jar and put it in the refrigerator until next time. Hopefully, they’ll still like them later.

“Next week,” I told them, I’m going to make some easy and delicious cookies for humans. Maybe you two can come in and advise me as I work.”

“Can’t you all just eat these?” asked Kiki.

“Ummm, I guess we could, but I think the humans might prefer some different flavors,” I told her.

I hope you’ll come back next week for what I promise will be the final episode in this cooking series, and the second cookie in the tale of two cookies. These treats won’t be for kitties, but I’m sure my feline kids will have something to contribute to the process.

Have a good week. Thanks for joining us today.

Image attributions: rawpixel (flowers); Apricot Cat/MVK(cats)

 

 

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4 COMMENTS

  1. What a fabulous Catmas treat! I love having a recipe to try out and I know Loula likes tuna. I just adore Allen and Kiki too – best cookie taste-testers ever!

    • Allen and Kiki thank you (as do I). I hope Loula will like the treats. Allen and Kiki scarfed them up when they were just cooled from baking, but now they are no longer interested. Oh, well….love your 12 days of pre-Christmas.

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