Pumpkin Dog Treats
In order to help keep all our family members optimally healthy, I decided to bake tummy-soothing, pumpkin dog treats for our fur babies. These contain canned pumpkin to calm digestion, peanut butter for protein and healthy plant-based fats, and oats for fiber and antioxidants. My pooches love them.
These dog cookies are super easy to make. Simply mix canned pumpkin (make sure it is unsweetened and not pumpkin pie filling), oat flour (or grind rolled oats into flour), and creamy peanut butter. It is important that your peanut butter is unsweetened, and preferably does not have added salt. Some peanut butters contain Xylitol, which is toxic to dogs, so opt for a peanut butter that contains only ground peanuts.
Ingredients:
1 15-ounce can unsweetened pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
1.5 cups of oat flour (or grind 1.5 cups of rolled oats ground into oat flour)
1 cup of creamy peanut butter (unsalted and without any added ingredients)
My babies patiently waiting for their goodies!
Mix these together, and then scoop the dough into small rounds and place on parchment-lined cookie sheets. I used a melon baller for a consistent size, but a small spoon would do nicely. I then flattened these as you might a peanut butter cookie. They do not spread when baking, so you can pack them onto your cookie sheet.
The dough is quite moist, so to dry them thoroughly, I bake the cookies at 300 degrees for approximately 40 minutes, flipping them mid-way through cooking. This yields a soft cookie that can be easily broken into smaller treat-sized pieces, but which does not crumble messily when consumed.
Yield:
Approximately 50 dog treats
42 calories per cookie
Let cool completely and then store in a sealed container in the fridge. They can also be frozen. Just be sure to thaw them completely before giving them to your pup, so they are not a choking hazard.
If you have a pup that will eat a treat in one bite, like my girl Friday, these dog cookies work well as inexpensive and healthy pill-pocket alternatives. Fezzik, smart old man that he is, simply ate the cookie and left the pill on the floor. He’s fussy like that.
I hope your pups like these treats as much as ours do. They are great for dogs with digestion issues, contain no additives or preservatives, and are so much healthier and more economical than store-bought treats.
These cookies are Friday and Fez approved!
Wishing happy and healthy eating to you and your furry babies!
🌱💕