Armed with my trusty sidekick and test subject, Cooper, I set about the make these cookies out of some of his favorite things: pumpkin and peanut butter. Pumpkin is really good for a dog’s digestion and their bowels, and sometimes we just put a spoonful of it in his dry food. After researching a few other dog treat recipes, like this one, I decided to make up my own version. See below for the recipe and instructions.
WHAT YOU’LL NEED
INGREDIENTS
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (in my case I used gluten-free flour, because that’s all we have in our house)
- 1 cup rolled oats
- 2 eggs (to make vegan, follow these instructions to replace the egg with flax seed)
- 1 cup peanut butter
- 2 cups canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)
- 2 Tablespoons chopped parsley
OTHER MATERIALS
- Large mixing bowl
- Mixer
- Cookie Cutter
- Rolling Pin
- Cookie Sheets with parchment paper or baking liners
INSTRUCTIONS:
STEP 1:
Heat over to 325 deg F
STEP 2:
In a large bowl combine flour, oats and eggs. Mix to combine.
STEP 3:
Add peanut butter and pumpkin and mix.
STEP 4:
Add chopped parsley and mix until all is combined. (Should be the consistency of sugar cookies. If too wet, add more flour. If crumbly and too dry, add pumpkin or water a tablespoon at a time to get the right consistency.)
STEP 5:
Flour a level surface and spoon out a large portion of dough. Flour your rolling pin and roll dough out to a quart inch (1/4″) thickness.
STEP 6:
Use cookie cutter of your choice to cut out cookies. Then place on cookie sheet on top of a baking liner or parchment paper. (These cookies do not spread out, so you can put them very close together. With my little 1 1/2″ heart-shaped cookie cutter I was easily able to get 30 on a sheet.)
STEP 7:
Bake in 325 deg F oven for 30 minutes or until edges begin to golden. These cookies will be someone soft when they come out and should remain soft afterwards. For a crispier cookie, bake another 10 minutes.
STEP 8:
Remove cookies from pan and allow to cool, especially before giving to puppies who are waiting for them to come out of the oven.
If your pup is anything like Cooper, they’ll be in the kitchen watching you while you bake and drooling over the smells. And since all the ingredients are totally normal and healthy, you might even want to take a bite too!
Images ©Bridgette Meinhold, and via Shutterstock
