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    Home » Recipes » Dog Recipes

    Homemade Dog Treats

    Published Nov 11, 2020 · by Jacqueline Piper · 2 Comments · This post may contain affiliate links

    253 shares
    Jump to Recipe Rate this recipe

    These super easy 3 ingredient homemade dog treats are made with simple ingredients that your dog or puppy will love. For a gluten free version of this recipe swap out the wheat flour with oat flour.

    a bowl of homemade dog treats on a wood serving slab

    Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to purchase through my link, at no extra cost to you.

    Your dog will love these easy treats

    Today I'm going to do something a little different. I'm going to share a homemade dog treat recipe. Why? Because they are so easy and my dog (Sadie, but we call her Puppy mostly) literally goes crazy over them. You'll see in the photos..

    These dog treats, or puppy cookies as we call them, require only three ingredients and prep is pretty easy.

    a bowl of homemade dog treats

    Ingredients you need

    • Mashed Sweet Potato: I boil a sweet potato and usually only need about half of it, mashed up. Don't add anything to it.
    • Peanut Butter: Simple store-bought peanut is what I use
    • Flour: All-purpose flour is fine, check below for subsitutions

    Ingredient Substitutions

    • Mashed Sweet Potato: I'm sure you could use pumpkin puree although I have not tried it
    • Peanut Butter: Not sure of any substitution for this because it's what holds this dough together. Make sure your peanut butter does not contain Xylitol as this is toxic for dogs.
    • Flour: I've used oat flour in these photos. I've made this recipe probably about 50 times and in that time I've used regular all-purpose flour which works great and I've also used homemade oat flour. Why? Because my mom used to have a sweet little puppy named Teddy who was gluten intolerant - it made him itch like crazy. If your dog is also, try oat flour! You can buy oat flour or simply blend oats in a food processor (make sure they are certified gluten free if you need to).

    About these ingredients

    The three ingredients in this recipe are safe for human consumption. I have fed these treats to my dog and my moms dogs for years and they all love them and never had any stomach upset with them.

    Do your own research and consult with your dog's veterinarian about possible allergies or intolerances your dog may have before feeding them these treats.

    I've done my own research and have a few articles to share regarding these ingredients and dogs.

    Sweet Potatoes: Most of the articles I've read suggest sweet potatoes are safe although they should always be cooked before feeding and shouldn't be the main ingredient in your dog's diet. I feed my dog one of these cookies a day. This article from RedBarn (a pet food producer) says sweet potatoes are a good source of essential vitamins such as B6, C, and A. Purina says canned pumpkin is safe for dogs and can even help with stomach upset. You could try substituting the sweet potato mash for pumpkin puree.

    Peanut Butter: The American Kennel Association says peanut butter can be a part of a dog's diet although they recommend peanut butter that is unsalted or natural and never containing Xylitol which is toxic for dogs.

    Wheat flour/Oat flour: The American Kennel Association says grains can be healthy for dogs. If your dog has an allergy to wheat try oat flour as long as your oats are certified to be gluten-free (sometimes they are grown next to wheat or processed in the same plant as wheat.)

    3 dog treats stacked on a wood serving slab

    Let's Make Puppy Cookies

    For these dogs treats, you'll need to do some prep or buy already mashed sweet potato if that's available in your store. If not, peel, chop, boil and mash one sweet potato, and then measure out half a cup for this recipe.

    Measure half a cup of peanut butter also. And a cup and a half or so of flour (all-purpose or oat).

    homemade dog treat process shots with ingredients and a dog waiting for a treat

    See... Puppy knows I'm making them because she can smell the familiar ingredients. She sat and watched the entire time.

    Simply mix all three ingredients together. It takes a while to get it all combined but it will come together. I use a spatula for this.

    What is the texture and consistency of the dough?

    The dough should be rather soft like cookie dough, not stretchy and thick like bread dough but it shouldn't be overly sticky. It will be somewhat sticky though and will take extra flour to roll it out so that it doesn't stick to your surface or your rolling pin.

    Roll the dough out. I do this right on a silicone mat. You can also roll it on parchment paper.

    Once it's rolled out pretty thin you can cut it. I roll it about â…› inch thick, which is approximately the thickness of two stacked quarters.

    To cut squares, I take my bench scraper and press lines in (carefully if I'm working on top of my silicone mat - you don't want to cut into it). I press lines horizontally and vertically to make square dog treats. Doing this makes this recipe super easy.

    I press holes in each cookie, mainly for decoration but it also helps prevent bubbles from forming in the dough.

    homemade dog treats process shots of dough

    You can also use any shaped cookie cutter to cut treats. A dog bone-shaped cookie cutter makes super adorable treats but it takes a long time and this dough is kind of soft so it can take a long time to move the cookies over.

    If I'm using a cookie cutter, I usually just press the shapes into the dough on the Silpat and then remove the surrounding extra dough so that I don't have to move each cookie. Reroll the leftover dough and press more cookies until you use all the dough. You may have to bake in batches.

    Make them however you want though! I promise you Puppy doesn't notice if they are square or bone-shaped, she just wants to keep shaking a paw to get more of them. You can see this below.

    a dog shaking a paw for a treat

    Tips and Tricks

    Use cute, shaped cookie cutters and give these treats as gifts to your favorite puppy friends! Slip them into a plastic bag and tie with a ribbon.

    Or add some to a glass jar and gift the whole thing to a friend and their dog for a cute gift.

    a dog laying down and waiting for a treat

    I'm waiting...

    a dog laying down and waiting for a treat

    ... for cookies!

    Recipes FAQs

    Are these safe for my dog?

    All of the ingredients in this recipe are safe for people and dogs to eat. Consult with your veterinarian before feeding these to your dog if you have concerns about food allergies or intolerances.

    Disclaimer: I feed these cookies to my day every day but they may not be the perfect fit for every dog.

    How do you store homemade dog treats?

    I keep these at room temperature for only a few days. I always store them in the freezer after that. They do not contain preservatives and can mold quickly, especially in warm environments.

    a dog being given a treat

    Cookies plz?

    a dog being given a treat

    Ty

    Sweet Potato Recipes for people

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    • Sweet Potato Pita Bread
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    a bowl of homemade dog treats

    Homemade Dog Treats

    Jacqueline Piper
    5 from 1 vote
    These easy 3 ingredient homemade dog treats are made with simple ingredients that your dog or puppy will love. For a gluten free version of this recipe swap out the wheat flour with oat flour.
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe Save Recipe Recipe Saved!
    Prep Time 15 mins
    Cook Time 15 mins
    Total Time 30 mins
    Servings 80 cookies (1 inch by 1 inch)

    Ingredients
      

    • ½ cup mashed sweet potato, plain
    • ½ cup peanut butter, no xylitol
    • 1 ½ - 2 cups all-purpose (see notes*)
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    Instructions
     

    • Preheat oven to 350°F
    • Peel, chop, boil until tender and then mash and cool the sweet potato.
    • Mix everything together to make a dough. It should be somewhere in between the softest cookie dough and bread dough - soft but not too sticky (slightly sticky though).
    • Set the dough on a silicone mat or parchment paper cut to the size of your baking sheet. Use minimal flour and a rolling pin to roll the dough out. Roll to about an â…› of an inch thick (about 2 quarters stacked together).
    • Carefully press lines into the dough to make 1 inch by 1 inch square cookies. Alternatively use a cookie cutter to press shapes. Remove extra dough around shapes and re-roll it in a second batch of cookies. Repeat until all or most of dough is used.
    • Bake cookies for 12-15 minutes, or until cooked. A longer cooking time results in crispier, crunchier cookies.
    • Let cookies cool completely before feeding. Store at room temperature for about 2-3 days and then move the remaining cookies to a container in the freezer.

    Notes

    Notes - Use certified oats (blended into flour) or oat flour for a gluten-free version.
    Substitutions - Try swapping the sweet potatoes for pumpkin and the whole wheat flour for oat flour.
    Storage - Store at room temperature for 3 days and then store in the freezer.
    Nutrition - Nutritional information is an estimate only, intended for informational purposes, and not to be used as medical or dietary advice. The estimate is based on a nutrition calculator and every recipe will vary slightly depending on the products you use in your home such as peanut butter and the size of your cookie cutter.  This estimate is per serving for a 1 inch by 1 inch cookie that is rolled at about an ⅛ of an inch thick.
    Disclaimer: I feed these cookies to my day every day but they may not be the perfect fit for every dog.  Read the articles I've link to in this post and check with your dog's veterinarian if you have any doubts or concerns before feeding these cookies to your dog.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 22kcal

    Nutrition Disclaimer

    Nutritional information is an estimate. Values vary based on products used.

    Read our full Nutrition Disclaimer.
    Keyword dog cookies, dog treats, puppy cookies, puppy snacks
    Have you tried a recipe? Tag @pipercooksblog or tag #pipercooksblog!

    Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to purchase through my link, at no extra cost to you.

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    1. Christine

      November 27, 2021 at 9:18 am

      These were the perfect crackers to make use of peanut butter and sweet potato that I had in the fridge! My 14 yr old pup has recently become pickier and pickier due to late stage kidney disease and I have been trying to put a couple of pounds on him safely without worsening his kidney disease (with only pure meat meals). He used to love roasted sweet potato and peanut butter - but for some reason won't eat them just by themselves anymore. Voila! When I put them together with the wheat flour and baked it to make a cracker, he gobbled it up! Some tips I learned - the peanut butter I use is just 100% pure peanuts so it was a little thicker than normal. The sweet potato also was not mashed enough so the dough was too crumbly. But...I saved the dough by simply dropping a bit of water in until it would come together in a ball. I did the parchment paper version, rolled it out and scored it into squares. After I took it out of the oven, I simply broke apart the pieces at the scored lines. Perfect!! Thank you!

      Reply
      • Jacqueline Piper

        November 29, 2021 at 4:19 pm

        Hi Christine!

        Thanks for your comment and the info about your experiences with this recipe - I'm sure that'll help someone else out down the road. I'm glad your pup loved these, mine does too and they're so simple. Thanks for letting me know specifics about your ingredients and I'm really glad you liked this recipe 🙂

        Jacqueline

        Reply

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    Hi, I’m Jacqueline Piper and I’m all about the homemade because I love to make things. From 15 minute meals for your weeknight dinner to more effort for special dinners and desserts on the weekend, I’ll show you how to cook from scratch. We’ll do healthy and we’ll do delicious, everything from kale to chocolate with beautiful, fresh ingredients. Search my recipes for your cravings, because we can make it!

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