Pumpkin & Peanut Butter Dog Cookies

Next to my love for food is my love for animals, especially my baby, Bailey!  After my move to the South, I knew it was only a matter of time before I'd get a puppy!  Neither of us had ever adopted before; however it was something we had been considering for a little while and decided to take the leap in October!  We went to our county animal shelter and fell in love with a little (well, not so little anymore) Black Lab/Rottweiler mix!

She has been an absolute joy (for the most part); however her little puppy antics and mischevious behavior have not gone unnoticed!  She's definitely still a puppy and has certainly had her naughty moments (especially recently).  BUT, she does have her moments when she is oh, so sweet and cuddly and affectionate and on her best behavior; it's those times when she deserves a treat! 

I've always wanted to try my hand at making homemade dog treats and I thought what better time than now?!  Christmas is right around the corner and it would be a great stocking stuffer for Bailey and a great gift for all of our little furry friends in our family!  I chose the Pumpkin & Peanut Butter biscuits I found on allrecipes.com because I already had the ingredients and I thought, if I were a dog, those would be the ones I would choose!  I was a little nervous because I've never made them but figured dogs eat most things, right?!  So what's the worst that could happen....they may not turn out the best, but they'll still get eaten!  They ended up turning out very well and Bailey sure didn't hesitate to inhale the first one I gave her!

Pumpkin & Peanut Butter Dog Cookies
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Ingredients
2 1/2 cups Flour
2 Eggs
1 cup canned Pumpkin
1/2 cup Peanut Butter
1/2 Tsp. Salt
1/2 Tsp. Cinnamon
1 cup Carob Chips
Sugar Sprinkles

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, eggs, pumpkin, peanut butter, salt and cinnamon.  Add water and flour as needed to make the dough workable as it should be dry and stiff (like sugar cookie dough).  On a floured surface, roll out the dough to 1/2" thick.  With floured cookie cutters, cut dought into desired shapes and place on a parchment-lined cookie sheet. 

Bake for 30 minutes and let cool on a wire rack.  - I do a variety of small and large treats for the small and large dogs in our family; the smaller treats only need to bake for 10-15 minutes (depending on your oven temperature).

To frost the cookies, melt carob chips in a double boiler (stirring frequently) to the consistency of melted chocolate.  Fros the cookies by dipping them into the melted carob or using a knife to cover their surface.  While carob is still wet, sprinkle desired decorations on top.  Set out on parchment paper to dry.  Store in an air-tight container up to 2 weeks to keep fresh.

Source: Adapted from allrecipes.com