I have been meaning to make dog treats for ages and have been putting it off. Our oven stopped working over a month ago and that threw a wrench in things. My husband, S, bought a Ninja air fryer/toaster oven combo unit that is awesome so we've been able to cook food but its smaller than the regular oven. So we've just been using store bought dog treats. One of our dogs, Molly, has some food allergies and she's been itchy lately so I finally gave in an made treats in the Ninja.
I found a recipe on Pinterest 5 or 6 years ago that was the basis for this recipe but I've been making them for a long time now without that recipe and have tweaked it a bit. It is a super simple recipe with only 3 ingredients that are inexpensive and easy to find! Bananas, oats and peanut butter.
I like to use a natural peanut butter but any could be used. I have a super cut owl cookie jar that I got for a wedding present that I love to use for my dog treats. (We don't eat many cookies and this way the cuteness can be on display even when we don't have cookies). I like to make at least enough to fill up the cookie jar at a time. The oats get ground up. It doesn't matter if it super fine or coarsely ground. I prefer coarsely ground, but if you want smoother dog treats, grind more finely. I do around 6 1/2 - 7 cups of oats which makes about 5 cups of oat flour.
I mix together 3 bananas and 2 cups of peanut butter in a kitchenaid mixer. You can use a mixer or by hand. You want to to be mixed and the bananas to be smashed, it does not have to be completely smooth though.
Then you want to mix in the oat flour. How much flour is totally up to you. I added about 4 1/2 cups this time with a little extra on the side. I dont like my dough sticky so I made enough the I can roll these suckers out by hand but if you want more peanut butter and it's a bit sticky I recommend reserving a bit of the ground oats to coat the surface you are rolling it out on, your hands or a rolling pin. Once it's all the way mixed pull out the dough and roll it out. I use parchment paper so it doesn't stick to the counter! I roll my dough to 1/2" for my dogs. When I make these for my mother-in-law who has a small dog I roll them to 1/4". Then cut out the shapes you want. I found adorable dog bone cookie cutters at the kitchen store at the mall that I usually use. This time of year I also do Christmas shapes as well.
They bake for 12-15 minutes at 350°. The thicker you roll the longer you bake!
Let them cool and they are ready for you puppies!
Molly and her dog sister Zoey heartily approve of these treats!
Until next time,
XO Dani