Pumpkin / peanut butter dog treats

When I was thinking about Christmas gifts last year, I knew I wanted a little something extra to give friends and family. Once I realized just how many of us have dogs as pets, the solution was simple!

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I found a dog treats recipe and gave them a try. 4 out of 5 recipients devoured them – the 5th hasn’t reported back yet 🙂
I’ve made these three times now and someone in our household seems to have developed a sixth sense when Mom is making them!

These are really easy to whip up but I would highly recommend using a stand mixer as the dough is very thick and would be hard to stir by hand!

ASimpleHomestead.com - pumpkin peanut butter dog treats

Beyond that, the recipe is as easy as mixing together, forming into “biscuits” and baking. The last time I made these I just used a cookie scoop to form the dough and place on the baking sheets. That worked except for one problem – they tended to look like chicken nuggets in the refrigerator and made ME hungry ! LOL

ASimpleHomestead.com - pumpkin peanut butter dog treats

Humans can eat these. Papa and I each tried one but didn’t think they had much flavor. Apparently a dog’s tastes are more discerning and can pick out the small amount of peanut butter hidden in the recipe.

This makes a couple of pans of treats because I doubled the original recipe I found. We froze Olivia the Pumpkin in 2-cup increments so I didn’t want to have to thaw and use a partial bag. Plus, when you give these to friends and family and your dog loves them, they go quickly! I’m sure they’d freeze well too. Just be warned: since they don’t have preservatives in them, it would be best to keep them in the refrigerator. We learned the hard way that keeping them in a closed container on the counter makes for fuzzy treats in a week or so.

ASimpleHomestead.com - pumpkin peanut butter dog treats

The original recipe I found also had a bit less pumpkin but included water.  There was also added salt, which I excluded. I felt there would be plenty of salt in the peanut butter and Finley doesn’t seem to mind the low-salt version.

The first couple times I made these I did what the recipe called for, and “rolled” and cut out the dough. When I say roll – I mean that I dumped the dough out on a heavily floured surface because it’s very sticky and just patted it down until it was even. No need to even bring out the rolling pin!

Then I ran through the dough with a pizza cutter to make little square/rectangles. I didn’t worry about getting them too even or nicely looking – they are just dog treats after all!

ASimpleHomestead.com - pumpkin peanut butter dog treats

They don’t get super-crunchy like a certain milk-treat brand we’ve been known to buy.  Perhaps that is some of the appeal – that they’re more like human food 🙂

I’d love to hear if you try these – or if you know of other great pet treats. Finley certainly prefers these over store-bought ones, so I’m looking for a variety.

Pumpkin / peanut butter dog treats

Ingredients

  • 4 1/4 – 4 1/2 cups whole wheat flour plus extra for rolling
  • 1 cup quick or rolled oats
  • 4 eggs
  • 2 cups pumpkin 16 oz can
  • 1/3 cup peanut butter

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350°F
  • Combine all ingredients in a stand mixer with a paddle attachment until everything is combined.
  • Flour your work surface and pat or roll the dough until 1/4″ thick. Cut into approximately 1 to 2″ squares.
  • Bake for 35-35 minutes. The treats will still be a bit soft.

One Reply to “Pumpkin / peanut butter dog treats”

  1. The ingredient list sounds good – I may have to try these for our daughter and son-in-law’s three mini dachshund’s. They definitely love their treats!

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