Homemade Peanut Butter Dog Treats
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The easiest homemade dog treats ever – simply mix, roll and cut. Easy peasy, and so much healthier than store-bought!
Featured Comment
I know. Dog treats on Damn Delicious? I never thought I’d see the day. But I’ve been spending a lot of time and money shopping for good-quality dog treats for Butters here, but then I thought, why not just make them at home?
reasons to make homemade peanut butter dog treats
- So stinking easy to make
- Short 4 ingredient list, most of which you probably have on hand
- Healthier ingredients – no added preservatives, fats or chemicals
- Economical and cost-effective
- Freezer-friendly to extend shelf-life
- Guaranteed favorite with your pups
- Makes for great gifts for pup friends, birthdays and holidays
Ingredients
Pumpkin puree
Pumpkin puree is great for digestive health for your pup. Always use pure pumpkin puree with no added sugar, salt, fat or spices.
Peanut butter
A hero ingredient here! Always opt for natural, unsalted peanut butter without added sugar or artificial sweeteners such as xylitol.
Eggs
Not only are eggs a nutritious source of protein, healthy fats, vitamins and minerals, but they also serve as a binding agent to hold the dog treats together.
Whole wheat flour
We prefer whole wheat flour as it contains more nutritional value than all-purpose flour. Rice flour can also be used as a gluten-free option.
tips and tricks for success
- Use your favorite cookie cutters. Bone-shaped cookie cutters are so much fun to work with but you can really use any kind of cookie cutter on hand – hearts, stars, dog houses, paws, etc.
- Adjust baking time as needed. The longer they bake, the crunchier they are.
- Shorter shelf life. Homemade peanut butter dog treats have a shorter shelf life as they lack preservatives compared to store-bought treats, making them susceptible to spoil relatively quickly.
- Feed in moderation. As always, give treats in moderation to avoid potential health problems such as diabetes and obesity.
- Consult with a vet. Please consult with your pet’s veterinarian regarding possible allergies, dietary restrictions and health concerns your pup may have.
freezing and storage
Storage
Homemade dog treats can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 1-2 weeks.
Freeze after baking
Let the dog treats cool completely. Transfer the dog treats to an airtight, resealable freezer bag, thawing overnight. Label, date and freeze up to 3 months.
pro tip
Use dog safe peanut butter.
Use peanut butter without added sugar or artificial sweeteners such as xylitol. Xylitol is added to peanut butter as a low-calorie sweetener. While safe for humans, xylitol is toxic to dogs, causing hypoglycemia (low blood sugar), seizures, liver failure or even death.
more homemade dog food recipes
Homemade Peanut Butter Dog Treats: Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, but all-purpose flour is high in carbs and does not offer much nutritional value.
Rice flour is often times used as a gluten-free option. It is easier to digest and can help with stomach issues.
These can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 1-2 weeks, or in the freezer for 2-3 months.
Homemade Peanut Butter Dog Treats
Ingredients
- ⅔ cup pumpkin puree
- ¼ cup peanut butter
- 2 large eggs
- 2 ½ cups whole wheat flour
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat; set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat pumpkin puree, peanut butter and eggs on medium-high until well combined, about 1-2 minutes.
- Gradually add 2 1/2 cups flour at low speed, beating just until incorporated. Add an additional 1/4 cup flour at a time just until the dough is no longer sticky.
- Working on a lightly floured surface, knead the dough 3-4 times until it comes together. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough to 1/4-inch thickness. Using cookie cutters, cut out desired shapes and place onto the prepared baking sheet.
- Place into oven and bake until the edges are golden brown, about 20-25 minutes.*
- Let cool completely.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
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Out of three dogs one I’d highly allergic to eggs..what can I do to replace them…
Use 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce for every egg.
Works for baking whether for humans or our furry
loved ones 🙂
I loveeee these dog treats!!! They came out perfectly!!! I used a little less flour though. I have made them three times now and my dog LOVES them!!! This was the first recipe I looked at and the last one!!! Amazing recipe!!!
What can you use if you dont have whole wheat flour
Thanks
can you pot them in the freeze?
fenton
I’ve made these before and loved them!
The local grocery stores are low on canned goods, but I’m working from home and it’s just my dog and I. I want to make her a treat!
I’ve secured white flour, eggs, and peanut butter.
Anyone know of something I could substitute for the pumpkin puree?
Thanks!
Puree some cooked carrots/apples/applesauce
I steamed a small sweet potato and mashed it.
My two Saint Bernards get dry kibble, but I always split a can of dog food between them and add it to their dry to make their meals more enjoyable. Since it’s harder to get canned dog food now, I’m making mine go further by adding rice or pasta and cooked vegetables to two cans of dog food. Sometimes I add meat or eggs. I make a pot of this combination and measure it out via the dog food can and package it in sandwich-sized Ziploc bags, and then refrigerate them. I heat a bag up by putting them in hot water for 15 minutes before serving. I make enough for two days. As I feed my dogs three times a day to prevent bloat, this comes to six bags. This way, I get three meals off of one can. I’m going to continue to do this after the pandemic as it’s healthier and costs less.
my dogs loved it, i made 15 for now. 5 for each doggo. I also added oats to the top, would definitely recommend this recipe ❤️
Could you make this without pumpkin puree
Yes, Banana works great!
My dogs absolutely loves these treats! I have 5 dogs and everyone of them love them. Thanks for the recipe!
The original recipe is great. Unfortunately, pumpkin puree is not packaged in tw0-thirds cup portions. My local grocery has 29-ounce cans which is 3 and one-half times that of a tw0-thirds cup. Therefore, I increased the balance of the ingredients by 3.5 times to create enough to share. Also, I made them gluten-free by replacing all wheat flour with freshly ground oat flour. Simply blend rolled oats in a food processor for 30-60 seconds.
My modified ingredient list includes…
11 cups oat flour, plus one more for dusting
1 cup peanut butter
7 eggs
one 29-ounce can pumpkin puree
I used a 6-quart Kitchen Aid mixer, adding one cup of flour at a time to the wet mixture until well incorporated. Before you add the eleventh cup of flour, check to button of the mixer to see if any dry oat flour is hiding under the moistened dough.
Thank you Jeff for your modified recipe. I have the huge cans of pumpkin too so this is super helpful. We also have a gluten allergy in the house, so the oat flour will work perfectly!
These are awesome! I followed the recipe but instead of three cups of flour I used two cups of flour and one cup of oats. I rolled them thin and baked them for 25 minutes. They came out crunchy. On one batch I drizzled honey. My dogs loved them!
My two grandchildren, age 6 and 4, had a blast making these dog treats. They wanted to eat them but the dogs did and loved. I had to throw out some of the biscuits as they got moldy after a week. The recipe did not mention refrigeration but definitively they need refrigerated even though they felt fairly hard. Maybe I didn’t bake long enough to prevent this or maybe since there aren’t preservatives they should be refrigerated either way.
These treats are so easy to make and my doggies love them. I don’t mind that they are a little soft. I have older dogs so these are easy on their teeth. I read the other reviews and i only had to use 2 1/2 cups of flour instead of 3. No biggie. Thank you so much for this recipe!!!!!!!
Easy recipe my dogs LOVE them…
so sure they’re “dog treats” but did anyone try them? Because I’m gonna
Me too
A great recipe. Though, I made some changes to this recipe and found that 3 cups of flour were too much and cut back to two cups. I added another egg as the eggs were small. This change made the mixture thick and easy to bake. I did use parchment to roll out the dough as it was heavy and unwieldy. the biscuits came out lovely in 25 minutes.
I made this for my dog and my friends dog and they both loved is so much!! Once we ran out they begged for more but we couldn’t otherwise they’d get sick and throw up everywhere! I’m planning to make this again. Would it be okay to add half a banana or a full one? Or would that mess it up?
Our 14-1/2 year old Boston Terrier is VERY picky about her treats and meals but I’m delighted to report that she loved them! I made them as an activity on a snow day with my 5-year old granddaughter who’s obsessed with Mabel. My only comments are that I’d use my food processor with a dough hook next time because there’s a lot of flour in this particular recipe. Also, I’ll add some chopped cooked bacon when we make them again. Thanks!!
These are a couple of the changes I made:
Substitute 1 cup ground oatmeal and add it with the 2 cups flour
add 1/2 cup finely chopped cooked bacon to dough before rolling out.
After baking, when treats have cooled down, drizzle bacon grease very lightly over the tops. Put grease in a ziplock type baggy after it’s cool enough so as not to melt the bag but still liquid enough to drizzle it and snip a tiny hole in the corner of the bag (go easy so you aren’t adding too much extra fat).
Bacon and bacon grease isn’t good for dogs. It can cause pancreatitis.
Too much flour. Best to slowly add flour. Really only needs about 2 1/4 – 2 1/2. Dogs liked them warm but not too crazy about them cold! Good basic recipe though! Will make again.
I followed this recipe to the letter but they puffed up and were soft. I left them in a bit longer to try and fix but it didn’t really work.
Any ideas how I can avoid the puff and have a snap-able cookie?
My dogs loves these treats and I was pleased how quickly they came together. I didn’t have canned pumpkin and used canned sweet potatoes. The mix was dry, so used a bit less flour and added some of the liquid from the sweet potatoes. My first sheet of treats did puff up so I poked the next batch with the tines of a fork and I had less “puff” and a nice decorative pattern on the treats. I will make these again and will use the bacon bits for extra flavor my Chesapeake retriever will love.
The recipe was great and my dog loved them. The only issue I found was that the amount of flour called for was too much. I had to add more pumpkin and peanut butter after the 2 1/2 cups of flour because the dough was way too dry.