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These homemade dog treats are going to be your pup’s new obsession. They’re super easy to throw together and full of healthy ingredients!
Recipes like this are the perfect activity for the family. Have bored kids at home? Try making ice cream in a bag, fruit leathers, or caramel apples!
Pumpkin Peanut Butter Dog Treat Recipe
I am so excited for the first dog-friendly recipe to be up on the blog! We humans get so many tasty baked goods, it’s time that our pups do, too! It’s hard to know what dog treats are healthy or not. Unfortunately, so many prepackaged treats are loaded with fillers and preservatives. Today, we’re making dog treats with just a few simple ingredients. Pumpkin purée, peanut butter, eggs, whole-wheat flour, and cinnamon are all you need! Honestly, it’s a relief knowing what exactly goes into these dog treats so we don’t have to worry! My girls are obsessed with making these. It’s a fun activity for all of us! And most importantly, our Portuguese Water Dog, Leia, gives them a 10/10.
The foundation of these treats is a mix of peanut butter and pumpkin purée. Peanut butter, in moderation, is a great source of healthy fats and protein for your dog! Similarly, a pumpkin is great for regulating your dog’s digestive system. It’s full of fiber! Eggs, whole-wheat flour, and cinnamon are all completely healthy for dogs to consume, and create the cookie-like texture of the treat once baked. Heads up: these are also safe for humans to consume. I’m not going to judge if you munch on a couple! They are essentially a pumpkin spice biscuit.
Homemade Dog Treat Ingredients
Only 5 human-grade ingredients are needed for these cute little treats! All are easy on your dog’s stomach. I tested these treats on a few of our family’s dogs with flying colors. Yours will love them, too!
- Pumpkin Purée: Adding pumpkin purée helps these treats to be easily digestible!
- Peanut Butter: What dog doesn’t like peanut butter? It is full of proteins and healthy fats for your pup. Just make sure there isn’t any xylitol in the brand you choose. Xylitol is an artificial sweetener that is toxic to dogs.
- Eggs: Used as a binding agent to give these treats their cookie-like form!
- Whole-Wheat Flour: I like to use whole-wheat flour for its health benefits. If your dog has a gluten intolerance, opt for a gluten-free flour!
- Cinnamon: In small quantities, cinnamon is a perfectly safe ingredient for dog treats. It will add extra flavor!
How to Make Dog Treats at Home
Making treats for your dogs at home is a cinch. It’s fun, too! You can use any shape of cookie cutter you like! With Halloween coming up, some spooky dog treats would make an awesome gift for your loved ones with furry friends!
- Preheat Oven, Prep Baking Sheet: To start, preheat the oven to 350° and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Mix Wet Ingredients: In the bowl of a mixer, use the paddle attachment to combine the pumpkin, peanut butter and eggs on medium high speed.
- Add Flour and Cinnamon: Next, add in the flour and cinnamon and mix until a stiff dough has formed.
- Roll Out Dough and Cut: Turn the dough out on a lightly floured surface and roll out to ¼ inch thick. Then, use cookie cutters to cut your desired shapes!
- Bake: Bake for about 20-25 minutes, until the edges begin to turn golden brown. Allow to cool completely.
- Serve: Your treats are ready for your favorite pups!
Tips for Successful Dog Treats
Homemade dog treats have to be made with the right ingredients to avoid feeding your furry friend something that could potentially make them sick. This recipe is pretty simple, but there are a few tips to help you make these perfectly canine-friendly!
- Natural Peanut Butter: Quite a few peanut butters contain xylitol as a sugar substitute. It’s perfectly fine for human consumption, but it’s very poisonous for dogs! Be sure to check the ingredients on your peanut butter before using it in this recipe. I prefer an all natural peanut butter that doesn’t contain any sweetener at all.
- Whole-Wheat Flour: Whole wheat has more nutrients in it and is more beneficial for your dog, but if you don’t have whole wheat flour you can substitute all-purpose flour instead.
- NO Nutmeg: If you want to get creative and add a few spices to the recipe, be sure not to add nutmeg. Nutmeg is toxic to dogs and should not be included in this recipe. This includes any sort of pumpkin pie spice since it almost always has nutmeg in it.
Storing Homemade Dog Treats
Homemade dog treats are free of all the preservatives you find in store-bought dog treats. The only downside to them is their shelf-life being shorter than typical treats. By storing them in the fridge or freezer instead of at room temperature, you can extend their shelf life!
- At Room Temperature: Store in an airtight container or ziplock bag at room temperature for up to 7 days.
- In the Refrigerator: Your dog treats will keep in the fridge for up to 3 weeks. Store in an airtight container or ziplock bag for best results!
- In the Freezer: When stored in a resealable freezer bag, your treats will last 3 months. Allow to thaw before serving to your pup.
Kid-Friendly Recipes
Recipes like this one are perfect for kids! It keeps them from getting bored and also introduces them to the fun in baking! If your kids are anything like mine, they will love helping to make these tasty desserts and decorating them! It’s the best activity with the most delicious results.
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Homemade Dog Treats
Ingredients
- 1 Cup Pumpkin Puree
- 1/3 Cup Peanut Butter No Xylitol
- 2 large Eggs
- 2 1/2 Cups Whole Wheat Flour
- ¾ Teaspoon Cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350° and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In the bowl of a mixer use the paddle attachment to combine the pumpkin, peanut butter, and eggs at medium-high speed.
- Add in the flour and cinnamon and mix until a stiff dough has formed.
- Turn the dough out on a lightly floured surface and roll out to ¼ inch thick. Use cookie cutters to cut your desired shapes.
- Bake for about 20-25 minutes, until the edges begin to turn golden brown. Allow cooling completely.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Are the treats soft or hard?
They’re somewhere in between but definitely on the softer side.
Thank You Alyssa for this yummy recipe for my 2 little babies,they absolutely loved them . I only made one little adjustment to the recipe, instead of adding 2 1/2 cups of whole wheat flour, I used about a 1/2 cup of oat flour and 2 cups of the whole wheat flour and I had to bake mine for 40 minutes instead of 20 – 25 minutes and they turned out perfect!
I have been making my beautiful babies homemade treats and food for 7 years now and it has been one of the best and most important decisions that I’ve ever made and it’s been wonderful, how many people have made the switch as well. I just couldn’t trust all the dog food companies anymore and all the garbage that goes into the foods was extremely heartbreaking. I get to have all the control of what they eat, and not the manufacturers and what a HUGE difference. My precious babies only has me to take care of them and look out for them so why not do the same thing for them, they’re my everything and there’s nothing that I wouldn’t do for them! Thank You Again 🐾🐾 🐾🐾
Made these a few times and my friends dog loves them I’m making them for a Christmas gift to all my friends dogs
Just baked these and they are a winner! The dough was very sticky to handle, so I placed it on baking paper and flatten down (with flour on my hands). Then into the freezer to get a bit hard. After 30 mins I took it out and used a cookie cutter.
Can these be made in the molds?
Sure, that will work too!
I want to make all of these things for my pup, but how much of each ingredient should be used? Am I missing this, or is it not specified?
The exact ingredient amounts are listed at the bottom of the post on the recipe card!
Do I need to freeze these or refrigerate to keep them fresh? What’s the shelf life?
You can store them in an airtight container. At room temperature, they will last 3-4 days, but in the fridge they should last 7-10 at a minimum. They can also be frozen and thawed at room temperature as needed!
My very picky Portuguese Water Dog loves these. She even tried to get them from the counter while they were cooling! The recipe was very straightforward. The dough was a little sticky but turned out fine. I’ll be making these a lot! Beats buying expensive brand name cookies only to have her decide she doesn’t like them!
Yay! My dog loooooves these as well!
It did not turn out for me it’s too sticky and soft I will have to find another recipe
I love this recipe and my dog loves it to, but the first time I made it, it was so easy but now the Mixture wants to stick to everything and it is hard to roll out, help please!
Can i use carrots,cooked and mashed instead of pumkin puree?
I haven’t tried that before! Let me know if it turns out.
I used coconut flour, much better for your dog.
I haven’t tried the recipe yet because I don’t have whole wheat flour. I have white flour. Could that be used? If not , could I grind up some oatmeal to substitute for the wheat flour?
Hi Sheila! Thanks for the question! Yes, you can use white, all-purpose flour for this recipe and it will be just fine!
I love it. Easy to follow recipe and simple ingredients. I love knowing what my furbabies are eating and they seem to love them too.
I just made these and it was so easy!!! I just used my hands to mix and roll out the dough and they turned out beautifully!!! These really cost nothing to make as I had all the ingredients on hand. I made small treats so this recipe made 80 lil treats. I have a German Shepherd and a Shiloh Shepherd with very sensitive tummies so we have to be very careful of the treats we buy. After making these… I will no longer be buying expensive dog treats!!!
Quick, EASY, healthy and affordable. I don’t have a dog but I dogsit and make these often! I also use oat flour because I thought I read it’s easy on their tummies. Either way, not one complaint! I once made them for a bake sale and they sold out! You could also brush a little peanut butter, melted carob chip (I’d have to confirm safety) or honey when they first come out of the oven so it kind of melts on top. I use a small bone cutter and can make maybe 30-40 treats? That’s a guess. Easy recipe to adapt cooking time for soft vs. crunchy, they do harden a bit when cooled. Awesome!!
Amazing recipe . It’s very easy to make i will surely try this . Thank You .
I’m making treats for my grandpups for Christmas. This recipe sounds good.
Let me know how they turn out!
I will try this one. Its look great. Thanks for this one.
Nice and Great homemade dog treats. I will try this one.