Homemade Halloween Dog Treats

Posted 2 months ago by Emma. 0 comments

I love to bake. I'm never going to win (or even qualify for) the Great British Bake Off, but a Sunday afternoon spent in the kitchen making some sweet or savoury treats is a super relaxing time for me. That said, it's not always easy baking for just two, and since I now work from home I can no longer palm off my creations on colleagues in the office. This meant I started to miss my baking days. Luckily Paso came to the rescue. 🐾😅

Like most dogs Paso loves his treats and as soon as the treat cupboard is opened he will magically appear in the kitchen from wherever he was in the house. I'm always keen to ensure that Paso has a healthy diet so I decided to combine my love of baking with his love of treats, a match made in heaven!

I even went all out and bought a number of different cutters in bone, dog and paw shapes. There's obviously no need for you to do this if you don't want to (I like to pretend that Paso is an intelligent creature, but I can guarantee that he neither knows, nor cares, what shape his treats are!) All you really need is a set of scales, a baking tray, a rolling pin and a quiet Sunday afternoon.

Pumpkin and peanut butter dog treats

We're headed into October and these treats are great to make around Halloween, when you may already have a load of pumpkin flesh to use up. If you can't get pumpkin then squash or sweet potato work just as well, or you could even try canned pumpkin.

⚠️ Warning! Most dogs love peanut butter but some brands can contain xylitol, which can be fatal in canines, so be careful to check the ingredients before feeding peanut butter to your dog or adding it to your recipes.

Ingredients

• 130g pumpkin flesh 🎃
• 100g smooth peanut butter
• 1 egg 🥚
• 25g dried cranberries
• 2tsp fresh parsley
• 25g oats (we use gluten free)
• 175g flour (we use gluten free)

Method

1. Peel the pumpkin and chop into even sized chunks. Boil in a pan of water until soft. Drain and mash until smooth and set to one side to cool. Whilst the pumpkin is cooling roughly chop the cranberries and parsley and lightly beat the egg.
2. Mix the egg and peanut butter with the pumpkin and then add the cranberries, parsley and oats. Add the flour and mix to a dough using your hands.
3. Wrap the dough in clingfilm and leave in the fridge for six hours or overnight.
4. Preheat your oven to 170°C/150°C (fan)/Gas Mark 3 and line a baking tray with parchment paper.
5. Flour your worktop and roll out the mixture to around 4mm thick. Cut out your shapes - Halloween cutters optional! 👻 - and place on your prepared baking sheet.
6. Bake in the preheated oven for around 20 minutes then leave to cool on the baking sheet. Once cool, store in an airtight container, perhaps keeping one out as a treat for your pet for waiting so patiently. 😊

Banana and sweet potato dog treats

Paso has a seriously sweet tooth and would eat cake all day long given half a chance. This super simple recipe satisfies his sugary cravings whilst avoiding any processed sugar.

Ingredients

• 1 ripe banana, chopped 🍌🔪
• 60g sweet potato, peeled and chopped into small chunks 🍠
• 160g oat flour*

*If you can't get oat flour, you can use oats and whizz them in a food processor until they resemble flour.

Paso has a gluten free diet as we've found he's sensitive to grain, so we always use gluten free flour or oats. If your dog doesn't have any issues with gluten then you can just use the normal variety.

Method

1. Boil your sweet potato in a pan of water until soft. Remove from the heat, mash and then set aside to cool completely.
2. Once cooled add your banana and mash together until smooth (you can use a hand blender for this if you prefer). Then add your oat flour and mix to form a dough. Wrap the dough in cling film and leave in the fridge for six hours or overnight. This allows the oats to absorb some moisture making them safer for your dog to eat. It also makes the dough easier to roll out!
3. Preheat your oven to 180°C/160°C (fan)/Gas Mark 4 and line a baking tray with parchment. Take your dough out of the fridge. Dust your worktop with some flour and roll the dough out until about 1cm thick. Use a cutter to cut out the treats and place them on the prepared baking tray.
4. Bake in the preheated oven for 35-40 minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

These treats will keep for up to two weeks in a sealed container. 👍

Hopefully you'll enjoy trying these recipes, but more importantly, your pooch will enjoy eating them. We're always trying out new recipes for Paso's homemade treats so watch this space for new creations!