Homemade Peanut Butter and Banana Dog Cookies
Serves
40
Prep Time
15 min
Cook Time
25 min
Print Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 cups (750 mL) whole wheat or all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling out dough
- 2 eggs
- 6 tbsp (90 mL) xylitol-free smooth peanut butter (see Notes)
- 6 tbsp (90 mL) mashed banana (about 1 medium banana)
- ¼ cup (60 mL) water, plus additional water as needed
Instructions
- Step 1
Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- Step 2
Place flour in a large bowl.
- Step 3
In a small bowl, whisk eggs, peanut butter and banana until blended. Stir in water.
- Step 4
Pour egg mixture into the flour, stirring with a fork until the mixture starts to come together. With the mixture still in the bowl, use your fingers to work the mixture into a ball. The dough should be a bit stiff but if it seems quite dry and won’t form into a ball, add a little more water, 1 tablespoon (15 mL) at a time until it comes together.
- Step 5
Place the dough on a lightly floured work surface. Knead it gently until it smooths out and feels combined. Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough to about 3/16 in (5 mm) thick. Cut into shapes using cookie cutters, cutting the shapes as close to each other as possible to avoid having to reroll a lot of dough a second time. Using a 3 inch (8 cm) cookie cutter will yield about 40 cookies. Alternately, use a knife or pizza cutter to cut the dough into strips, squares or random shapes.
- Step 6
Place the shapes on the cookie sheet. (Sometimes it’s helpful to slip a knife or thin-edged pancake turner underneath the dough shapes to slide the cookies off the work surface and preserve their shapes.)
- Step 7
Bake in the preheated oven until the cookies are baked through, feel very firm to the touch, and are starting to brown on the bottom, 20 to 25 minutes.
- Step 8
Meanwhile, if you used cookie cutters, gather any scraps of dough into a ball and roll out again. Recut using the cookie cutters, or cut into strips or squares with a knife. Bake these remaining pieces; if they are smaller than the first batch of cut-outs, they make take a few minutes less to bake.
- Step 9
When the cookies are removed from the oven, transfer them from the cookie sheet onto a wire rack to cool.
- Step 10
When cool, place in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.
Tips
- Be sure the peanut butter does not contain xylitol which is toxic to dogs.
- Feel free to use whatever type and size of cookie cutter you like. Ideally, try to bake cookies of a similar size on the same cookie sheet to avoid under or over-baking. If you wish, cut the dough scraps into small bits and pieces and bake them as is. Little treats are just as tasty as bigger ones and more easily eaten by smaller dogs.
- This recipe and your pet are very forgiving. Most dogs aren’t fussy about the appearance of their treats so a misshapen or over-baked (but not burnt) treat will not be turned away.
- An oven thermometer is an invaluable tool to determine if your oven is actually baking at the temperature it is set at. Adjust for shorter or longer baking times based on the accuracy of your oven temperature and ingredient measurements.
- This recipe is easily halved.
Variations
- Apple Cinnamon Cookies: Stir 1 teaspoon (5 mL) ground cinnamon into the flour. Instead of peanut butter and banana, blend 6 tablespoons (90 mL) unsweetened apple sauce with the egg. Increase the water to 6 tablespoons (90 mL) or substitute apple juice.
- Pumpkin Ginger Cookies: Stir 1/2 teaspoon (2 mL) ground ginger into the flour. Instead of peanut butter and banana, blend 6 tablespoons (90 mL) canned pumpkin with the egg. Increase the water to 1/2 cup (125 mL).
- Want to make a gluten-free version of these cookies? Substitute 4 cups (440 g) certified GF oat flour for the whole wheat flour. You can purchase oat flour or you can make your own by using a blender or food processor to blend rolled oats into a finely ground flour. One cup (100 g) oats will make about 3/4 cup (82 g) oat flour.
Nutrition Facts
| Per Cookie serving | |
|---|---|
| Calories | 56 |
| Fat | 2 g |
| Saturated Fat | 0 g |
| Trans Fat | 0 g |
| Carbohydrate | 8 g |
| Fibre | 1 g |
| Sugars | 0 g |
| Protein | 2 g |
| Sodium | 13 mg |