DIY Doggie Peanut Butter, Treats & Pup Cakes

Greetings Everyone! Today's post is dedicated to our sweet pup Lexi Lou. She turned three this month! How the time flies. Seems like just yesterday she was eight weeks old and my husband was bringing her home! 

This year I actually had time to have a proper doggie birthday for her. Our neighbors puppy Zoe got to come over, and we had borrowed their ball pit for them to play in! Lexi wasn't so sure about it, but Zoe had a hay day. They had such a fun day running around together, our cat Ryli even ran around with them too!

I made some fun treats for the pups to practice their tricks. Usually these treats are what I give Lexi instead of buying them at the store. She loves them! They come in extra handy whenever I work on training with her. I love these treats because I know exactly what is going into them and I hand make the peanut butter I use for them. Here's how to make them!

 Start off by shelling and taking the skins off a bag of unsalted roasted peanuts. One bag makes a full regular size mason jar of peanut butter. Grab your food processor and put in the peanuts, that's all you'll need! Turn it on and let it go until the peanuts get to a clumping stage. You'll then need to break up the clumps and turn it on again. If it clumps up again, just break up the clumps again and repeat. One time of breaking it up should do the trick.

Keep processing it until the mix becomes smooth, about five minutes. Like this! Then its done and ready to be put in a jar. My processor always gets really warm whenever I have it on for an extended period of time so I let the mix cool for a bit before storing it.

You can store it either in the fridge, or just in your cabinet. It should last for a few weeks! If your house is humid, or the area you live in is, I suggest keeping it in the fridge so it lasts longer.

 "Mom, can I have some peanut butter yet!?"

 To make your doggie treats you'll need:

1 egg
1/3 cup of the homemade peanut butter from above
1 1/2 cups ground oats (more for dusting when cutting)
1/2 cup organic mashed banana, or organic pumpkin puree. Whichever your pup prefers! Lexi's favorite is the pumpkin.

Preheat your oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit. Combine all ingredients into a bowl and give them a good mix until well combined. Dust your surface with some ground oats and roll out the mix until desired thickness. I usually roll mine out to about 1/8-1/4" thick, preferably less than 1/4". You can use cute doggie cutters or you can just use whatever cutters you've got! The ones I have here are made by Wilton and come as a set. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Cool on a cooling rack.

Voila! Homemade doggie treats your pup will love! Store them in an airtight container in the fridge.

Happy third birthday Lexi Lou!

I made her these really cute pup cakes that she devoured in TWO bites! I'm not even kidding they were gone in less than a minute. She loved them!

How sweet is she! I just can't get enough of that cute face. Here's how I made the pup cakes:

1/4 cup homemade peanut butter

1/4 sugar free apple sauce (you can also cook down some apples with water and mash them for the step, that's what I did. Save it for later to put in a Kong toy for them!)

1/3 cup honey

1 cup shredded carrots

1 egg

1 tsp baking soda

1 cup ground oats

4 ramekins or a 6-8" cake pan

Mix all the ingredients together until well combined. Use a small amount of vegetable oil to grease the ramekins, then use a small amount of whole wheat flour (if you have it) to flour them. Pour equal amounts into each ramekin and place on a baking tray. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes or until a knife comes out clean. Let cool on a cooling rack, then pop out the cakes and let your pup enjoy!

Recipes for doggie treats via Miss Molly Says

Recipe for pup cakes via The Curious Country Cook