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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I used two and a half cups of whole wheat flour and the dough was impossible to work with. I followed the recipe exactly. Any idea what I may have done wrong?
The recipe calls for 3 cups of whole wheat flour or more as needed. Maybe you didn’t use enough?
great recipe. I ‘decorated’ a little tree w/these-made holes in them before cooking and used them as ornaments for a couple of friends w/ dogs. was a great Christmas present. making them again today w/ a doberman cookie cutter for my neighbor who has three dobies. thanks
by the way, my husband tried them-thumbs up! ):
These were a big hit! I quadrupled the recipe and gave some to family for Christmas. They were really soft and great for the older dogs. Thanks!
Oh I loved this on so many levels. Got inspired by you to make treats for my Waffles. Do check it out if you have time.
Thanks much.
https://www.foodfashionparty.com/2017/12/homemade-dog-treats-banana-peanut-butter.html
Hi
This recipe looks amazing. I want to make these for the dogs i walk. Do you have the conversion to grams at all please.
Jenny
Here is a great conversion chart you can use:
http://dish.allrecipes.com/cup-to-gram-conversions/.
Hope that helps!
Can I substitute yams purée? Also substitute oatmeal four for part of the flour? I have only 2 cups of flour and a can of yams.
Unfortunately, without further recipe testing, I cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment regarding substitutions and modifications. Sorry, Lynette!
I did half oatmeal and half flour and it worked great!
Scaled to ONE 15 OZ can of pumpkin (making the adjusted recipe as I type):
1 ea 15 oz “100% pure pumpkin”
6 ea large eggs
2/3 cup peanut butter
7 cup rustic whole=wheat flour.
Follow the same instructions, BUT with this one difference: reserve about 1/2 cup of flour for the cutting board. Combine your wet ingredients in the electric mixer on low speed for a couple of minutes. It’ll look very creamy. Don’t over-do, tho. You don’t want to incorporate much air.
Then dump in 6-1/2 cups of rustic whole wheat flour. Turn mixer on lowest setting. At first it looks like a bowl of flour, then it gets clumpy, then the mixer starts to labor. After a couple minutes, it becomes a more solid mass.
Form into a LOG about 1 foot or so long. Cut into 8 pieces. Roll out 1 piece to 1/4″ thick (on a well flour-dusted board). Use your cutter to cut as you wish. Combine scraps, put in mixer, and another 1/8 log. Lock and mix. It’ll all combine into a lump. REPEAT (roll out on floured board, cut, gather scraps, toss in mixer, add another 1/8 log, and …)
I was able to use 100% of the dough, and it retained good roll-out consistency.
The dog is enjoying his “first warm batch”
Bob Lynch – Hayward – CA – USA – Dec 4 2017
New to baking dog treats, I have a 14 yr old border collie and the harder treats are harder for her to chew up as her mouth gets sore. I do have a question about the flour, can you use regular all purpose flour or does it need to be wheat and why if so?
Yes, the recipe will certainly work with all-purpose flour but whole wheat flour is better due to its nutritional value.
The whole-wheat flour isn’t for nutrition, but FIBER. Improves the poor dog’s digestive tract’s ability to digest the stuff. And to get the inedible parts out the posterior. LOL
Question- I have made these several times (they have been quite the hit!), but each time I make them they have terrible bubbles. The dough is too thick for my mixer to completely mix so I end up having to do the rest by hand and I try to knead it as little as possible, but the bubbles persist. Do you have any recommendations on why this might be happening and what I can do to prevent it? Thanks so much in advance! 🙂
It’s hard to say as a few factors can be at play but here is a forum worth checking out regarding bubbles in cookies!
http://cookieconnection.juliausher.com/topic/air-bubbles-in-cookies
wow its so cool! I bought a cookie mold for dogs and made it! its really good.
I’ll add a link which I bought:
https://thebakingway.com/collections/pets-prodects/products/dog-biscuit-mold
My coworker was chatting about having to run to town (35 miles away) to get her picky dog’s peanut butter treats. Since I was out if Snaps at home, I googled a pb recipe…voila! Yours popped up simple as can be. I doubled it and shared with everyone.
You are a hit with Minnie, as well as the waitresses’ picky dog too! My two and my grand-dog loved them. This is the forth day and I need more. Thank you!!
If I wan these to be a little chewy, how long should I bake them?
You can bake them for less time until the desired consistency is reached.
I made these and when I checked on them the next morning they were super soft kinda like tough play doh, nothing like the pictures 🙁 what did I do wrong?
What do you mean when you checked on them in the morning? How were they stored?
Love this recipe! But I’m getting bubbles in my cookies. I noticed you have them in yours, too. Is there any way to eliminate those?
It’s hard to say as a few factors can be at play but here is a forum worth checking out regarding bubbles in cookies!
http://cookieconnection.juliausher.com/topic/air-bubbles-in-cookies
Hope that helps!
If you are concerned about the shelf life, try Ina Garten’s Whole Wheat Dog Biscuit recipe. I have been making them for our Aussie for about 3 years and they keep fresh for 30 days in a sealed cookie tin. I think the pumpkin puree is what makes them perishable. This recipe does not have that ingredient. Check the link.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/whole-wheat-and-peanut-butter-dog-biscuits-2499067
can u make these without pumpkin puree?
Unfortunately, without further recipe testing, I cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment regarding substitutions and modifications.
I toasted stone oats blitzed them in my food processor to replace the flour, it adds a bit of a nutty flavor and my Bolognese and my Siberian husky went crazy for them. i have tried hundreds of biscuit recipes for them and the wouldn’t touch them yet they’ll eat just about anything like carrots squash lettuce cucumbers peas and they decimated my basil patch(we had to fence in our vegetable garden). So I have tried about every flour there is. The rest of your recipe remains about the same (except I added basil and thyme)
I’ve never had an issue with the shelf life, but after reading these comments I put in the fridge. Can you make the dough and freeze it like you would sugar cookies. I’ve refrigerated the dough for a couple of days prior to making them and it worked great, but wasn’t sure about freezing the dough in batches, do you think that would be ok?
Unfortunately, without further recipe testing, I cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment regarding substitutions and modifications.
I doubled the recipe so that I could share these with our friends. I took it one step further though, I rubbed a very thin layer of the natural peanut butter onto the bottoms of the treats – just enough for it to soak in. I had two dogs underfoot for hours waiting to “taste test” these treats. There was one major lesson I learned. Do NOT use a 1″ bone-shaped cookie cutter! I had to cut out more than 400 of those darn things in order to use up all of the dough, bake them, cool them, and then put the peanut butter on the bottoms!!!
My dog loves these! But I am trying to get them to look like they do in your pictures. Mine keep puffing up in spots and cook so unevenly and bubbly (even when rolled and kneeded properly) is there a solution for this? I’ve tried 3 times!
It’s happened to me as well! I’ve found that the larger the treats are, the more it happens!