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A Day in the Life of Jeanette - Squirrel Cookies

Here is the recipe which was brought up by Thomas in the first squirrel story a few weeks ago:

Squirrel Cookies or "Nut Balls"...Yum!

Another thing you can do is make "squirrel cookies". They're filling for the squirrels, so they don't eat as much of your birdseed. More importantly though, they are more nutritious than bags of sunflower seed, peanuts, and corn. (Some of those things are OK as a treat, but avoid feeding it to them as their main diet). The main ingredient in the squirrel cookie/nut ball recipe is called "rodent chow". It is sold at pet stores for feeding pet mice and rats. Rodent chow is sold as small cubes in a bag (sometimes in bulk) and is inexpensive.

Basic Recipe:

First, take some of the rodent chow, and crush it up into a powder or tiny chunks. You can use a hammer or coffee grinder to do this. (If you use a coffee grinder, pound it up with a hammer first, or else the grinder might not pulverize it). Note that I don't follow any specific proportions.

Put the following ingredients into a large bowl and stir:

the crushed rodent block
small hazelnut, pecan, or walnut pieces, and a handful of sunflower seeds
some hazelnut or walnut oil (optional)
a bit of cornmeal (optional)
soft, plain suet

Mix in some peanut butter for taste - you have to judge how much. If you can't smell peanut butter, they probably won't eat it. Next, add a bit of flour to get a sticky "cookie dough" consistency. That's what will hold the ingredients together. Mix or knead well. Roll the dough into small balls about the size of a walnut, or into a cookie form. Roll into some nuts or sunflower seeds. Freeze well. Squirrels won't eat it if it's mushy.

You can get creative with the recipe. Sometimes I roll up the "dough" in small balls with a nut inside before freezing it, or put some on a twig or craft stick, and freeze for a "squirrel pop". Good project on a winter afternoon. Just be sure to label the container well, or the unsuspecting human "nosher" might just pop one in his mouth by accident. I've heard that they don't taste as good as they smell.

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Thomas,
That was nice of you to share your “squirrel cookie” recipe, BUT, the day I spend my money on rodent food ground in my coffee grinder I use for flax for my health, I would give up squirrel watching and find another hobby. “Then add nuts” - have you shopped at the grocery store and priced those nuts?? Peanut butter, suet, hazel nut oil, peanut butter, etc. etc. Do you forget this is a frugal, old, retired farm wife (born during the Great Depression), living on a fixed income? Obviously you work for some big company that pays you big bucks so money isn’t too important to you. Have you listened to what the economy is doing lately? I may have to give lessons to the youth one of these days on how to live on what you make and save for the future. If three squirrels can’t supplement what I give them, they are lazy. My food is a treat. I pick up the corn off the ground on the farm after the picker has gone through, whereas the other food is usually something I buy on sale that we end up not liking. And if the steak houses give me a bucket of peanuts when I don’t want to eat them, the squirrels will. All this amounts to the squirrels getting what would go to waste anyway, and I get a little entertainment. I didn’t go buy dog and cat food on the farm. They got the scraps from our meals and went out and found the rest of the food they needed, like rodents. They lived to a ripe old age and lived outside in all kinds of weather. I do appreciate people’s remarks to my blogs, but this one hit a nerve and I had to reply. Jeanette

Posted by Jeanette

December 07, 2008 at 04:09 PM

I’m hearing from friends that they thought I was pretty harsh to Thomas about the Squirrel Cookies. Maybe I should have told you that this Thomas is my granddaughter’s husband and we tease each other all the time. In fact I warned him about the arnery answer I was going to give him. I still feel what I said about the ingredients, animals & waisting money.

Posted by jeanette brose

January 13, 2009 at 07:51 PM

Well Jeanette -

Whether or not he’s related to you - I disagree with you and am thrilled to have this recipe

We have two squirrels who live in a hole in a tree on our property. We are urban and these are the only two squirrels I have ever seen here. They were fabulous entertainment for our dog while she was alive and now that she’s gone I am dedicated to keeping these little furballs happy and healthy.

But I don’t want to do the wrong thing and provide an unbalanced diet while reducing their impetus to search out other foods.

So, yes, I will spend our hard-earned money on rodent chow and walnut oil. And I will be SO grateful and happy to know that I am doing the right thing by these entertaining, harmless little guys.

And, every day when I feed them, I will think of how happy they made our dog and I will be grateful.

I just wanted Thomas to know that his efforts are appreciated out here!

Kathy

Posted by Kathy

February 06, 2009 at 12:01 PM

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