Now that it’s November and fall is upon us it definitely feels like baking weather to me. It’s hard to have fall here in southern California as there are usually some very hot days into fall and winter. I always feel so envious of those people back east who have all the beautiful fall trees that turn colors. We have a tree in out neighborhood that does that, but not till December or January and by then I’ve grown tired of waiting and it doesn’t feel nearly as special.
I decided today that it would be a great day to bake some treats and these treats are so easy to make, mainly because they only have 3 ingredients! Yep just 3!
Ingredients you will need:
2 Cups Whole Wheat Flour
1 Cup Canned Pumpkin
1/2 Cup Peanut Butter
What you will need to make the cookies
Big bowl
Rubber Spatula
Rolling Pin
Cookie cutters
Cookie Sheet
Spatula
FLOUR:
I’m sure some of you will scream out loud when you read whole wheat flour in the recipe. 😂 You can always try it with other flours. I’ve used oat flour before because that’s what I had on hand and it worked fine. You can also try the gluten free flour by Bob's Red Mill, that works too! Make sure to get the plain one as the "cup for cup" version has added stuff you don't want to feed you dog. The only difference with flours is the baking time. Whole wheat flour will usually bake in less time than other flours like the oat flour. If you try another dog safe flour just adjust your baking time.
CANNED PUMPKIN:
When you are buying canned pumpkin make sure and only get one that is only pumpkin. DO NOT USE PUMPKIN PIE FILLING. The spices found in pumpkin pie filling, like nutmeg, are toxic to dogs. I find canned pumpkin year round at my local grocery store in the baking section and this time of year it should be easy to find at any grocery store.
PEANUT BUTTER:
Peanut butter is another ingredient you need to check labels for. I buy peanut butter that only has one ingredient… peanuts! If the label includes other things than keep looking. You definitely don’t want any that include added sweeteners like xylitol or sugar in it. Even if the label says natural it could have added fillers so make sure to check the ingredient list.
Okay Let’s bake!
Start by preheating your oven to 350 degrees
In a large bowl place 2 cups of flour, 1 cup of pure pumpkin, and 1/2 cup of peanut butter.
I usually start the mixing process with a spatula then once it is pretty combined I switched over to using my hands. Once it has formed a ball I cut the ball in half and place both halves in the fridge for about 10 minutes.
Lightly flour your space you are rolling the dough out in and flour your rolling pin too! This will help things not to stick. Now take out one piece of your dough. I do it this way to keep in more manageable. If you feel like rolling out the whole thing you certainly can but doing 1/2 at a time keeps it easier in my opinion. Another good tip is to start rolling in the middle of the dough and work your way out. This way the edges don’t usually get too thin.
I like to use rolling pin rings on my rolling pin to help me make the dough even every time.
Once you have rolled it out to about 1/4” you can start cutting out the shapes. I place the cutters pretty close together so I can get the most of out of the dough. Once you have them cut out you can place them on a baking sheet and re roll the scraps and cut out the shapes again.
Once you are done and the cookie sheet is full you are ready to bake. There doesn’t need to be too much space in between the cookies since they won’t expand much (if at all).
Pro Tip: One thing I always do when I am baking is I double my baking sheets. I find that using two can help prevent any cookies from getting brown too quick.
Now bake for 8-10 minutes. If your cookies don’t seem done keep baking them for an additional 2 minutes then check and repeat until dry, crisp and golden brown.
Store these in an airtight container and I hope your dog enjoys them!