Dogs aren’t just good drinking buddies — they can also give you something else to do with all those spent-grains that would otherwise go into the compost heap.

I’ve been trying to find other ways of reusing brewing ingredients for several months, now, by reculturing yeast, baking bread, etc. Zymurgy must have read my mind. The latest issue has recipes for reusing spent-grains. One of them is dog treats.

These were pretty simple and the house smelled incredible while they were drying in the oven. Peanut butter and banana anyone?

Here’s the recipe:

6 cups spent grains
6 cups flour
1.5 cups peanut butter
3 eggs
1 banana, cut into small pieces.

Preheat oven to 350-degrees F. Mix ingredients in a large bowl. (It was a sticky dough and very thick, so don’t be afraid to use your hands if a spoon isn’t working.) Spray two cookie sheets with baking spray and press the mixture into them. Score the treats however you like. (I did 1-inch rectangles, but some people use cookie cutters.)

Bake at 350-degrees F for 30 minutes. Remove the trays and finish cutting the treats where you scored them earlier. Turn down to 200-degrees F and bake for 5-10 hours. The treats are done when they are completely dry in the center. It should not be gooey inside, otherwise, it could cause it to mold. Store treats in a sealed bag in the refrigerator.