Homemade Decorated Peanut Butter Dog Cookies

Happy Valentine’s Day, friends! With a husband out of town, I am celebrating with my gaggle of spaniels and their very own Homemade Decorated Peanut Butter Dog Cookies.

I wasn’t necessarily planning on making them cookies, however, when working on my peanut butter toast Tucker threw the most hilarious (and high maintenance) temper tantrum for some peanut butter. I posted the video on my Instagram stories and it was both funny yet sad.

He loooooooves peanut butter. Our vet has a jar of it in her exam room and she scoops a handful to give when she administers medications. And well, since we are at the vet with him weekly, he has become quite the fan of the peanut butter. The dude can smell it from a mile away.

You guys spoke loud and clear.

The video of him whining for the peanut butter meant he deserved his own dang special treat. I got no less than 20 messages saying “you give him some peanut butter”, “oh, the toast isn’t for the dogs?”, “poor Tucker, GIVE him some peanut butter”.

I first tried to pipe peanut butter onto parchment paper, pop it into the freezer, and hoped that it would create cute little frozen dog faces.

Peanut Butter does not set when frozen.

So, I needed a base for my peanut butter faces.

Homemade Decorated Dog Cookies

Recipe Type: Dog Treat

Author: Aimee

Prep time: 20 mins

Cook time: 30 mins

Total time: 50 mins

Serves: 1 dozen

Chocolate is toxic for dogs, so find yourself some carob chips to use instead. You can find them at health food stores like Whole Foods.

Ingredients

1 cups whole wheat flour (you can also use oat flour)
1/2 cup rolled oats
2-3 tablespoons peanut butter, chunky or smooth
1/4 cups hot water + 1 Tablespoon to get to the right consistency
For decorating:
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter, slightly warmed
1/4 cup carob chips, melted
2-3 tablespoons fat free yogurt

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a medium-sized bowl, mix together the flour and oats. Add in the peanut butter and hot water; combine well. Using a mini cookie scoop, (or rounded spoonfuls), shape into rounded balls, then slightly flatten onto a silicone baking mat.
**If you’re not decorating the cookies, you can add an egg wash (1 egg whisked and applied with a pastry brush to the tops) to the cookies prior to baking for shiny cookies.
Baking time will depend on your dog’s preference: Bake for about 30 minutes for a slightly soft interior cookie, hardened exterior. And about 40 minutes for a crunchy cookie.
Allow the cookies to cool completely on a baking rack.
Using piping bags with a small decorating tip (I used for the peanut butter, then swapped to the for the outlining of the ears and the eye details). Serve immediately. Store in an air-tight container, lying flat (the peanut butter will not harden) and not touching one another, for 2-3 days.

I made some quick and easy Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies and then simply piped peanut butter onto the cookies. For eyes and the mouth, I melted some carob chips and voila, I was all done.

Except of course, I needed to make some Stella cookies too.