Pup'kin Puppy Bites - Pumpkin Molasses Doggie Treats

I not only enjoy cooking and baking for us humans in the house, but I also like making treats for our 2 pups. Okay, one pup and one almost 7 year old 'pup', but she will always be a puppy in my eyes. ;)

When it comes to doggie treats, it seems I should have a fun and clever name for them. Well....I guess I'm just not that cleaver. I'm sure I could of tried to come up with a name like pup'kin bones or dog gone treats, but really? As I'm laughing at my lack of cleverness my husband says, "How about Pup'kin Puppy Bites?" Hmmm......I like it! It seems he is far more clever than I am. That's why I married him don't you know. It had nothing to do with his cooking. Yeah, right!

This is my favorite doggie treat recipe because the ingredients are simple and I usually make them when I have left over pumpkin puree.

In a bowl, mix wheat flour, dry milk, and baking soda together. In a separate bowl, mix pumpkin puree, molasses, safflower oil (or vegetable oil), and water till well combined.



Then add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix till a dry stiff dough is formed. If the dough doesn't come together, add a little more water 1 tablespoon at a time. Or if the dough is too wet, add a little more flour 1 tablespoon at a time.



This dough is a little bit of a challenge to roll out. I usually use a french tapered rolling pin, but had to pull out my handled rolling pin for this dough. The handles made rolling it out much easier.



Roll out to about 1/4 inch thick. The thicker the dough, the longer it will take to bake. As well as vice versa, the thinner the dough, the less time it will take to bake.



Use about a 1 1/2 inch cookie cutter. I cut out several cookies at a time. Gather the left over scraps, form into a ball, roll out and cut more cookies. Or, do what I do which is freeze the dough to bake later. Spray a cookie sheet with nonstick cooking spray. Place cookies on sheet about 1 inch apart. Bake for 15-20 minutes. They should be just barely soft in the middle. They will harden as they sit. Let cool, store, and spoil your dog with tasty homemade treats! Try them yourself, I did! Okay, they aren't something I would add to my daily snack, but our dogs are pretty happy having a few (hundred) a day.




You really don't need any fancy cookie cutter shapes. I guarantee your dog wouldn't know the difference. Before I had this cute bone shaped cookie cutter, I just used a 1 inch circle cutter I had on hand. You could even use a pizza cutter to cut out squares. That certainly would be a lot faster and your dog would love them just the same.




Pumpkin Molasses Treats - Pup’kin Puppy Treats
1/2 cup pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie mix)
2 tablespoon molasses
2 tablespoon safflower oil (or vegetable oil)
3 tablespoons of water
342 grams (2 1/2 cup) wheat flour
2 tablespoon dry milk
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, mix pumpkin puree, molasses, oil, and water till well combined. In a separate bowl, mix flour, dry milk, and baking soda together. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix till a dough is formed. Add more water if dough does not come together 1 tablespoon at a time. This is a dry and stiff dough, so don't add too much water. If dough is too wet, add more flour 1 tablespoon at a time. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to 1/4 inch thick. Using a 1 1/2 inch cookie cutter, cut out cookies. Gather scraps, form into a ball, and roll out to cut out more cookies. (You can also freeze the dough to use later. Defrost overnight in the refrigerator. Take out of the refrigerator and let sit for 15 minutes before rolling out the dough.) Spray a cookie sheet with nonstick cooking spray. Place cookies on sheet about 1 inch apart. Bake for 15-20 minutes. They should be slightly (very slightly) soft in the middle. They will harden as they sit. Let cool and get ready to see one happy dog!