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In recent years, the trend of creating a special Easter treat just for your dog is becoming more popular.
AND WHY NOT? After all, the dog is a part of the family, they’re just as special like everyone else, and DARN IT! They LOVE a great homemade dog treat.
I love seeing our favourite dog bloggers share ideas like how to plan an Easter Egg hunt for your dog, how to get the best Easter dog photots and more. Who says the holidays are just for kiddos?!
We make these Peanut Butter, Banana and Carob dog treats year round, but we really love making that at Easter, when they are EXTRA cute.
Just what is carob? Even though it looks an awful lot like chocolate, carob is not the same thing. We all know that chocolate is toxic to dogs and we should never use it in dog treats, but carob does not contain theobromine or caffeine. That make it a great addition to tasty treats for your dog.
You can buy unsweetened carob chips on Amazon or, usually, at your local health food store.
How to Make Peanut Butter, Banana and Carob Dog Treats For Easter
These peanut butter, banana and carob grain-free dog treats are SO easy to make and are the perfect special treat to share with your dog this Easter!
Prep Time20 minutes Active Time1 hour Additional Time30 minutes Total Time1 hour 50 minutes DifficultyEasy
Materials
- Cookies:
- 1 Over-Ripe Banana
- 2 Large eggs
- 1 c. natural, unsweetened smooth peanut butter
- 1 1/2 c. garbanzo bean flour (+ extra for rolling out dough)
- Paw Prints (optional):
- 1 tbsp. coconut oil
- 1 c. unsweetened carob chips
- 1/3 c. of natural peanut butter
Tools
- Rolling Pin
- Egg Shaped Cookie Cutter
- Dough Docker or toothpicks
- Optional:
- Wilton 1M Icing Tip
- Wilton #12 Icing Tip
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 325F.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment (This step is especially important if you intend to fill the cookies with carob.
- In a medium bowl, mash the banana until smooth.
(Kol’s Note: Over-ripe bananas are sweeter and work best, but if you have to use a fresh banana, pop them in the oven until the peel turns black. It will be much easier to mash smooth and the heat will release the natural sugars making them sweeter. - Add in peanut butter and eggs, mixing until smooth.
- Mix in flour. Work the dough until it is well incorporated and the dough loses its stickiness.
(Don’t be afraid to get in there and get messy! Take chances! Make Mistakes! I always find dough comes together better when it’s kneaded by hands.) - Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface and use the rolling pin to roll out to approximately 1/4″ thick.
- Use a cookie cutter to cut out dough.
- Roll the dough docker across each cookie – or lightly pierce the cookie’s surface in several spots.
(Piercing the dough allows steam to escape as the cookie bakes and prevents a wobbly surface. You can get dough dockers on Amazon or at your local kitchen shop.) - Use your icing tips to cut paw prints in the cookies. I used a Wilton 1M tip for the larger paw pad and a #13 for the smaller toes.
(You can totally skip this step!) - Place the cookies in the oven and bake for 15 – 20 minutes until golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool (leave them on the parchment though – you’ll need it!
- To make the carob filling, melt the carob chips, coconut oil & peanut butter in a double boiler over low-medium heat, stirring constantly with a spatula until fully melted and smooth.
You can also melt this in the microwave on medium heat, stirring every 20-30 seconds. There is a fine line between smooth, flowy carob and chunky burnt carob (that smells abso-woofing-lutely awful), so don’t be tempted to rush the melting process.
- Place your carob mixture in a piping bag, icing bottle or paper cirn with a small opening.
- Fill each paw with carob and allow to cool until hard set.
Do you do anything special for your dog at Easter?