Halloween Peanut Butter Dog Treat

Halloween peanut butter dog treat cookies are fun to make and they are great to give the neighbor dogs for Trick or Treat night gifts!

Too often we prepare snacks and treats for the holidays, but we forget to make treats for our dogs. Made from healthy ingredients, these Halloween cookies are easy and fun to make!

I like to use my bread maker, to make this dog cookie recipe super simple and to cut down on the time that I spend making these dog cookies.

If you prefer, you can use your mixer with a bread hook, or just mix the dough and knead it by hand.

This Halloween dog treat recipe is a great one to make, with children. The dough is easy to work with, and the dog cookies are really cute when they are done.

Have your children wrap the finished peanut butter dog treat cookies in plastic wrap and put them in little Halloween cello treat bags –and you’ll be ready for the first canine Halloween trick-or-treaters that come to your door!

The Wilton Halloween Push n Press Cookie Cutter

The peanut butter dog cookies in the photo were made with a Wilton Push N Print Cookie Cutter Set. The best source that I found online was Amazon. You may also be able to find one at a craft store near you.

This particular set was a Halloween set and creates embossed cookies. Wilton also has a Christmas Push N Print Cookie Cutter Set, and a Birthday Push N Print Cutter Set that you might like.

Although I made this recipe for Halloween dog treats, you can make the peanut butter dog cookie recipe, any time of the year.

Simply use another cookie cutter, and you’ll be set for another holiday, or just choose a fun cookie cutter for everyday dog treats.

Here’s the recipe…

Ingredients for Halloween Peanut Butter Dog Treat

• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
• 2 tablespoons wheat germ
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dry baking yeast
• 1/4 cup cornmeal
• 1/3 cup peanut butter
• 1 cup water
• 1 ¼ cup unbleached flour
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1-2 tablespoons turmeric powder
• 1-2 tablespoons beet powder

Directions

1. Place all the ingredients in your bread-maker, according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
2. The tumeric and beet powder are for coloring. You can use more or less, depending on the intensity of color that you want to get. If you combine the yellow tumeric and the red beet powder, you will get a shade of orange.
3. Coloring – Because I use whole wheat flour, I also get brown tones. If you substitute unbleached flour for the whole wheat flour, you can use less tumeric and beet powder to get an orange color.Also, if you are not an absolute purist, you can use food coloring to get the color that you want—instead of beet powder and tumeric. Or use a mixture of the two.
4. When the dough is ready, roll it to a 1/4” thickness.
5. Cut a circle with the cutter, then press the plunger to emboss each cookie.
6. Using a spatula or flipper, place the cookies on a lightly greased cookie sheet.
7. Bake the dog cookies for 1 hour at 300 degrees F.
8. Turn off the oven and let the cookies dry in the oven overnight. They should be hard and crisp, not soft or giving. Turn them over once to let the underside dry thoroughly.

Storage of Dog Treats

Remember that homemade dog treats , made with healthy ingredients, can get moldy if left at room temperature, especially if the air is humid or the treats are not completely dry.

And the ingredients that make them so healthy (including the peanut butter), can get rancid if stored at room temperature for a long time.

The dry treats can be stored in a dog treat jar for several months.

For longer storage (up to a year), store the peanut butter dog treats in a cool dry place in an airtight food storage container. The refrigerator is perfect for long time storage.