You’ve probably already bought your Valentine chocolates, flowers, and/or jewelry, right? Well there might be someone you’re missing- your dog! This year, my pup Luna is my valentine, so I wanted to get her something special for Valentine’s Day. I think homemade gifts carry a lot of meaning, so these peanut butter pumpkin homemade dog treats are just the ticket.
I can’t overstate how easy these treats are to make. All you need is pumpkin puree, peanut butter, whole wheat flower, and eggs to make a treat that your dog will love. You just chuck all the ingredients into a mixer to combine, cut out whatever shape you want, and bake!
This recipe is great because you can use this any time of the year and just switch up your cookie cutters. For example, I used a small heart cutter today, but I could have easily used a Christmas tree, four-leaf clover, or just a regular bone.
If you want to add a little something extra, you can “frost” your treats with a cornstarch icing like I did here. A word from the experienced- this is the WEIRDEST consistency I have ever dealt with. It’s like an icing that is having a crisis and can’t decide if it’s a solid or a liquid. I feel you, cornstarch icing.
Since the icing is so strange, I experimented with a few different icing techniques. I found that the most successful technique was to drizzle the icing over the treat in a zig zag pattern. This will take some practice, and you’ll see why once you try it. I can’t say enough how weird this icing consistency is. I should have made a gif.
Luna gives these treats two paws up and definitely recommends them! I will say that they don’t keep that long since they’re all natural, so give them to your pup quickly!
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup pumpkin puree
- 1/4 cup smooth peanut butter
- 2 eggs
- 2 cups whole wheat flour
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- 2-3 tsp water
- food coloring
- 1 tsp honey
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F and line 1-2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Mix pumpkin, peanut butter, and eggs together in a standing mixer.
- Gradually add whole wheat flour. Dough should hold together but not be too sticky.
- Roll out the dough to about 1/4 inch thick. Cut with cookie cutters.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the edges are golden.
- Cool on wire racks.
- For the icing, mix the cornstarch, water, honey, and coloring together in a bowl. The mixture should look liquid but behave like a thick paste (I know, super weird).
- Frost your treats however you like! I've had the best luck with drizzling stripes on.
- Serve within five days. Bone appetit (ha!).
Luna likes them so much that she couldn’t wait until I was done photographing them to eat one. I wish I had gotten a shot of her with THREE in her mouth, because that happened.
What are your Valentine’s Day plans?
