Peanut Butter Pumpkin Dog Treats

Do any of you have dogs? Well, I do! I have two clever, adorable, loving, hilarious dogs! Cinnamon is a golden retriever, and he’s twelve years old now! He is so loyal, and always there for a hug. Lulu is five years old, and she is a puggle (a cross between a pug and a beagle) who loves to play, but is a pretty wonderful cuddler, too. Everyone says that dogs are a man’s best friend – but they’re a girl’s best friend, too!

I love both of my dogs so much that I came up with a recipe to make them dog treats! Who knows what kind of ingredients are put into store-bought treats? This recipe is impossible easy, makes a ton of cookies, and is super healthy and good for your pups – their tails will be wagging off the hook! I know my dogs loved them!

On top of being healthy, these treats are seasonal! With the last few pumpkins of autumn on doorsteps around my neighborhood, I was inspired to make a treat that used fresh, fragrant pumpkin – and end the season the right way. Of course, my puppies both love peanut butter, so I had to incorporate some of that into the recipe, as well. Although the combination seems a out of the ordinary, my dogs sure loved them! Whenever I opened up the canister, they came sprinting into the kitchen for a snack.

These treats combine creamy peanut butter with pure pumpkin purée to make an amazing combination of autumnal sweets. And there’s no sugar in the recipe, so you don’t have to worry about your pups bouncing off the walls! I gave my dogs two or three treats every day, and that was just enough for them to practice their tricks, and not get too full of sweets before dinnertime. Depending on your dog’s size, you can judge how many treats to feed them, but I wouldn’t exceed five or six in a day. If we feed Lulu too many treats, she can start leaning more towards the chubby pug rather than beagle side of her breed!

As you can see, I used some cute, 2-inch star cookie cutters to cut out my treats. The stars made for some super cute cookies, but you can feel free to use any type of cutter. Just make sure you don’t make the cookies too big so that your pups could choke, and I’d avoid a donut-like shape, because those can be a choking hazard as well. If you have a little chihuahua or another wee pup, make sure you break up the treats so they’re chewable even for the tiniest of mouths! A heart would be sweet, and closer to Christmastime, you could break out a Santa hat or Christmas tree shape! The possibilities are endless…

I hope you enjoy this recipe, and that your dogs enjoy the treats! 

Peanut Butter Pumpkin Dog Treats

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 25 minutes

Yield: About 60 treats

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
• 2 eggs
• 2/3 cup pumpkin purée
• 4 tablespoons creamy peanut butter

To bake:

1. Preheat the oven to 350*F, line a cookie sheet with parchment paper, and put all of your ingredients into the bowl of a stand mixer.
2. With a paddle attachment, combine the ingredients on medium speed for about a minute. If you pinch a bit and it feels dry and crumbly, add water tablespoon by tablespoon until it stays together. Do the same with flour if the dough is too wet.
3. Gather the dough together and form it into a large ball. Place it on a lightly floured work surface and roll it out until it’s about 1/4 inch in thickness. Now it’s time for the cookie cutters!
4. Using a cutter (or two, or three) of your choice, cut out as many shapes as you can and place them on your baking sheet. Re-roll the dough and keep cutting out shapes until there’s none left over. These cookies don’t really spread out while baking, so they can be snuggled close on the cookie sheet!
5. Bake for 25 minutes for nice, crunchy treats. Make sure you let them cool completely before giving them to your dog! Let the howls of happiness commence!