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Ingredients:
2/3 cup pumpkin puree
¼ cup peanut butter
2 large eggs
3 cups whole wheat flour
Directions:
First, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set it aside.
In a large bowl, beat pumpkin puree, peanut butter, and eggs until well combined. I usually heat the peanut butter up in the microwave for about 15 to 20 seconds so it’s easier to mix in with the other ingredients. Gradually add in the flour, starting with mixing in 2 1/2 cups until incorporated. Add in the additional 1/4 cup of flour until the dough is no longer sticky. If the dough is still sticky, add flour bit by bit until it thickens up.
Lightly flour the counter or table you are working on and knead the dough three to four times until it comes together. Use a rolling pin and roll it to about a 1/4-inch thickness. Using cookie cutters (I usually go for a bone shaped one), cut out the desired shapes and place them onto the baking sheet prepared earlier.
Bake the treats for 20 to 25 minutes or until the edges are golden brown.
Let them cool completely, then treat your dog to a delicious snack!
Commentary:
I’ve made this for my two dogs countless times, and they absolutely love them! They’re much healthier than store-bought treats and so easy to make. I also made them for the Farmer’s Market this summer and was making the treats in a larger quantity. If you want to make treats to share with your friends or family to give their pets, I would recommend tripling the recipe. Once you have the dough mixed together, I usually split it into three parts and then roll it out and cut out the shapes. This way makes it much easier to handle that amount of dough. Another note for if you plan to double or triple the recipe is too add about a cup less than needed of the flour and add more as needed; as I found that multiplying the flour the exact amount dries out to dough.
If you run low on whole-wheat flour (whether making the recipe normally or multiplying it), you can mix the recipe half and half with all-purpose flour. All-purpose flour is completely safe for dogs to consume.
The baking time can vary depending on if you want softer or crunchier dog treats. The harder and crunchier the treat you want, the longer you keep it in the oven.
If the cookie cutter you are using is quite large and leaves lots of small bits of dough, you can roll them into smaller balls and bake them into smaller treats.
As a reminder, there are no preservatives in these treats, so I recommend keeping them in the fridge, so they don’t mold.