Peanut Butter Pupcakes
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Dog-friendly cupcakes! These homemade pupcakes are so easy to make with pumpkin puree, applesauce, carrots, and a peanut butter frosting!
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Made these for my pups 2nd birthday and they were a huge hit! Super simple to make and apparently super tasty. His doggie friends were fighting over them!!
Why you’ll love these peanut butter pupcakes
- Uses dog-safe ingredients. Celebrate that milestone with your pup, whether it’s their birthday or gotcha day, with these easy homemade pupcakes using dog-friendly ingredients and avoiding harmful sugars, fats, and artificial additives.
- Budget-friendly. There’s no need for a specialty dog bakery! Making a small batch of dog cupcakes at home is incredibly cost-effective using pantry staples such as flour, oats, pumpkin puree, and applesauce.
- Allows for complete customization. This recipe can easily be tweaked and adapted to be made grain-free or dairy-free to suit your pup’s dietary restrictions.
What is a pupcake?
A pupcake is a cupcake treat specifically for pups made with wholesome, dog-friendly ingredients such as whole wheat flour, pumpkin, applesauce, and peanut butter.
How to make dog-friendly cupcakes
- Prep the pan. Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners or lightly grease with nonstick spray.
- Combine. Combine the whole wheat flour, old fashioned oats, baking powder, pumpkin puree, applesauce, vegetable oil, eggs, and carrots.
- Bake. Transfer the batter into the muffin pan, filling each cup about 3/4 full. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Pro tip: use a large cookie scoop to scoop the batter into each well to ensure a consistent size and even baking for each pupcake.
- Let cool. Let the pupcakes cool completely on a wire rack prior to frosting.
- Make the frosting. While the pupcakes cool, combine the room temperature cream cheese and xylitol-free peanut butter until smooth.
- Frost. Pipe, dollop, or spread the frosting on the tops of the cupcakes, garnishing with a mini dog biscuit (ex. Milk-Bone) or desired topping below.
Topping ideas
- Mini dog biscuits
- Turkey bacon crumbles
- Shredded carrots
- Banana slices
- Blueberries, raspberries, or strawberries
- Jerky or training treats
Tools For This Recipe
Peanut Butter Pupcakes: Frequently Asked Questions
How can I easily transfer the batter to the muffin pan?
A large cookie scoop should work very well here without making a mess.
What kind of peanut butter is best for dogs?
Use a natural unsalted peanut butter that does not contain artificial sweeteners such as xylitol (which is toxic to dogs).
What can I substitute for the peanut butter frosting?
Plain, low-fat Greek yogurt, whipped cream, or mashed sweet potatoes are all excellent substitutes.
How long do pupcakes keep?
Pupcakes can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Can I freeze these?
The pupcakes can be frozen, without the frosting, for up to 2 months.
Peanut Butter Pupcakes
Dog-friendly cupcakes! These homemade pupcakes are so easy to make with pumpkin puree, applesauce, carrots, and a peanut butter frosting!
Ingredients
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- ¼ cup old fashioned oats
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ cup pumpkin puree
- ½ cup unsweetened applesauce
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs
- 2 carrots, peeled and shredded
For the frosting
- 4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
- ¼ cup creamy peanut butter
- 6 Milk-Bone biscuits, small
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly coat a 12-cup muffin pan with nonstick spray or line with 6 paper liners; set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine flour, oats, baking powder, pumpkin, applesauce, vegetable oil, eggs and carrots.
- Scoop the batter evenly into the muffin tray. Place into oven and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until a tester inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool completely on a wire rack before frosting.
For the frosting
- In a medium bowl, combine cream cheese and peanut butter.
- Use a small offset spatula or a pastry bag fitted with decorative tip #1M to frost the cupcakes, garnished with Milk-Bone, if desired.
Equipment
Notes
- Use a large cookie scoop. Using a small cookie scoop is a convenient way to transfer the batter to the mini muffin tin with ease and less mess.
- Fill 3/4 full. Fill each cavity in the muffin pan about 3/4 full to give the batter room to rise without spilling over the edges.
- Make them mini. Use a mini muffin pan instead, reducing the bake time to 8-12 minutes and yielding 12 mini dog cupcakes.
- Use dog-friendly natural peanut butter. Always check the label to ensure that the peanut butter does not contain any added sugars or artificial additives such as xylitol, an artificial sweetener that is extremely toxic to pups.
- Treat in moderation. Treats, including these homemade pupcakes, should make up no more than 10% of your dog’s total daily calories.
- Freeze without the frosting. The cupcake base is very freezer-friendly, keeping in the freezer for at least 2 months.
Did you make this recipe?
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I made these for my puppy’s 1st birthday. Beautiful moist healthy cakes. I omitted the oats as I didn’t have any. I made fresh pumpkin purée as it’s hard to find ready made in Oz. I only used one carrot as it seemed to be enough. They came out perfect and my puppy loved it. Thanks for sharing the recipe
I made these and my dog really liked them. But when i made them, it made enough for 8. I also had Extra icing and i put it in a kong. My puppy loved it.
Can I use banana instead of pumpkin purée?
Can’t wait to make these for a friend’s dog! Do you think I could tint the frosting yellow? Would it turn out decently?
These are too cute! How does the frosting hold up? Does it slightly harden similar to buttercream? I’d likve to mail these to friends and family, so I need to know if they’d survive the trip.
This frosting is made with cream cheese and would need to be kept at 40 degrees for any length of time.
It was Cooper’s 5th birthday today. I wanted something homemade so I knew that it was healthy. Cooper was kind enough to allow me to make one for his brother as well. They were so patient as I took pictures but once we gave the word, the pupcakes didn’t stand a chance. They devoured them. I will definitely be making these again. I did cut the frosting recipe in half as I didn’t want to overfrost, although it was their favorite part. The frosting was the first to go. Thanks so much for sharing this recipe.
My pup turned 1 today, and I baked her a cake from a recipe I came up with, but I had no clue what to put in the frosting, and you were my go-to! She devoured it in 2 seconds, and then slept for the rest of the night. Success!
I made a cake for my dog’s first birthday using a recipe I came up with, but I had no idea what to put in the icing, so I looked to you for super mario bros advice. She ate it in two seconds flat and went to sleep for the rest of the night. Success!
Hey looks amazing! how long do these last please
What’s the best kind of baking silicone pan to use for these?
My dog girls and all the dogs at doggie daycare love these! I just tweek the recipe a little I switch out wheat flour for brown rice flour.
I don’t even think my dog chewed her cupcake — more like devoured it! Such a hit with my dog and her other furry friends. Easy recipe to follow.
amazing the recipe worked so well and easy charile loved them
I made these last September for our mini golden doodle 2nd birthday. They were a hit! Just pulled the recipe out to make them again for his 3rd birthday….making extra this year for all of his dog friend in the neighborhood. Thank you for this great recipe.
My pooches absolutely loves these. Was wondering how long they keep for?
Made these for our girls first bday, they loved them!! Very easy to make, have already made more, shared with neighbors dog and he loved them!!!
Made them for our grandpups and they loved them. Only thing is the paper lining was difficult to take off; any suggestions to stop this from happening.
I followed the recipe exactly. The Pupcakes turned out fantastic. My dogs loved them!
Good but how long do you bake these for?
SEE INSTRUCTION #3. ” Scoop the batter evenly into the muffin tray. Place into oven and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until a tester inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool completely on a wire rack before frosting. “
Made this for my pups’ birthday. Huge hit! Super easy and super cute! Will make it again!
So easy, cute and the doggos love them 😛