Peanut Butter Pupcakes
This post may contain affiliate links. Please see our privacy policy for details.
Dog-friendly cupcakes! These homemade pupcakes are so easy to make with pumpkin puree, applesauce, carrots, and a peanut butter frosting!
Featured Comment
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?
Tag @damn_delicious on Instagram and hashtag it #damndelicious!
Thank you so much for this recipe! The Pupcakes are in the oven right now today my dogs turn 2 and I decided to try out this recipe.
Made these today for our German Shorthair Pointer’s birthday. They were super easy to make and turned out so cute. Love the milk bone embellishment! Can’t wait for the dogs to enjoy them at our get together this evening!
Thank you for the great recipe and inspiration pic!
Thank you so much for this recipe. My English Bull dog’s Adoption day party is next weekend and this is exactly what I was looking for. I have all the ingredients and can’t wait to make this. I like the other poster’s idea of doing mini muffins since we have a lot of chihuahuas also participating in the event.
Made them for my Chihuahua’s birthday. These were really easy to make and my 2 Chihuahuas LOVED them! The birthday boy has gastrointestinal problems and I was so happy that these did not upset his stomach 🙂
Cant wait to try some of the other treats!
Thank you!
I love your blog for humans and dogs! My daughters and I made these pupcakes to celebrate our rescue pup’s first birthday, and our blind dog’s gotcha day, along with some friends’ pups birthdays. These were such a hit! We made small muffin size so they were bite-sized for the dogs and they were perfect! Thanks for sharing. Everyone was very impressed by this nice touch for our special babies!
do you think you can replace the pumpkin with mashed banana?
Yes!
These look so delicious! Recently got a dog at the shelter a few months ago, but already planning his 1 year adoption anniversary. Bookmarking this and making it for him next year! Thanks for sharing this recipe!
My pugs, porkchop and olive are gonna flip over these!!!!
That “Butter” is damn cute and I will have to make these for my pup “Baby”. Super cute!
These look so yummy. Can’t wait to try. I know my furbabies will love them!
Awesome can’t wait to make for all three of my dogs
Cannot wait to make this recipe for my son’s dog. My son lives in New York City and the next time he visits I will have these cupcakes as a nice surprise for his dog. I am sure she will ❤️ LOVE ❤️ THEM ! !
Thank you for this recipe
And a big thank you from Harmony. Sure she will love this recipe.
Awesome, it looks delicious and cute, thanks for sharing the recipe and introduction!