Today, I’m going to share my recipe for bird seed cookies. Winter is fast approaching, and backyard birds will be on the hunt for food. Feeding backyard birds during the winter has become a ritual for me. Watching birds and providing for them has become a part of my gardening experience. Especially, in winter months. I’m also teaching my grandchildren to help mother nature provide for her flock as well.
For the past few years, I have made bird seed cookies and peanut butter pine cones as treats. This year, I decided to add suet bird seed cookies from bacon grease to the meal plan. The birds love them, and it’s a great way to use the bacon fat from breakfast. I only use the suet bird seed cookies cakes during the winter months. If the temperature is too warm, they will melt and create a mess or become rancid.
So, if you want to make these tasty treats for your backyard birds, you will need the following ingredients:
Bird Seed Mixture – I have a combination of Black Oil Sunflower Seeds, Safflower Seeds, Cracked Corn and peanut chips in this batch However, you can use whatever mixture of seeds that you have on hand.
Bacon Grease – I save the bacon grease from breakfast for my suet, and I have also used grease from ground beef. I strain the oil to ensure there are no particles of bacon or ground beef going into the can when I save it. I simply want the fat from the bacon and ground beef. You can also use fat from your local butcher store.
Flour – 1 cup of flour or more. You can also use oats or grits.
Peanut Butter – About 2 tablespoons of crunchy or creamy peanut butter to the mixture. I use the store brand.
Variety of Cookie Cutters – Winter, Christmas or other shapes that you would like to use will be fine.
Drinking Straws – You will want to stick a straw through the mixture once you have the cookie cutters filled. You will want to make a hole in the cookie so you can run a string or ribbon through it so you can hang it. Or, you can just place the cookies in a suet cage or dish.
- Add the bacon/ground beef grease to the birdseed mixture, as well as the peanut butter and flour.
- Mix it until you get a consistency you like. You can add more of any of the ingredients.
- Once you have a consistency you like, place the mixture in the cookies cutters. My granddaughter had a great time filling the various cookies cutters. Her favorite was the heart.
- Be sure to pack the cookie cutters full. You want the bird seed cookies to be thick.
5. Once you have the cookie cutters filled, place the cookie cutters in your freezer or refrigerator for a few hours. You want the cookies to harden.
6. You can remove the cookie cutters once the cookies are frozen or had enough,
7. Use a spatula to remove the cookies from the cookie sheet. Place the cookies in gallon freezer bags or a freezer container. You can place them in your refrigerator. They store perfectly.
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The birds will love them, I guarantee it. Especially, on cold, icy and or snowy days. Oh, who am I kidding. They devour them on warmer days too. However, I recommend that you only use these bacon bird seed cookies in the colder months. They will melt if it’s too warm. The above picture is a Downy Woodpecker. He visits everyday for breakfast or lunch and hangs around for quite awhile.
The picture above is a House Wren. They’re tiny birds that visit daily, usually in a flock. They hang around for awhile feasting on the bacon cookies or head to the feeder.
This is a great project to make with your kids or grandkids. Additionally, check out the cookie cutters at the dollar store, yard sales and flea markets for fun shapes to use.
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