Peanut Butter-Pumpkin Dog Treats
I didn’t want to leave Missy out of the pumpkin craze so I baked up these little dog treats! I don’t know about your dog but Missy LOVES peanut butter! All I have to do is unscrew the lid on the peanut butter and she wakes up out of a dead sleep and comes running. Then she stares me down until I giver her a taste! She was sooo happy about these treats and as you can see in the photo, she was just barely able to wait to eat one! I made these in the shape of leaves for fall. 🙂 They are super easy to throw together, just mix everything together, roll out and cut into shapes and bake!
Flour the surface where you plan to roll these out. If they seem too sticky add a bit more flour.
Cut out the shapes with your favorite cookie cutter and place onto a parchment lined baking sheet. I sprayed mine lightly with cooking spray. I wanted a dryer treat than the last treats I made. One; because Missy likes crunchy treats and two; because the dryer the treat the longer it will last. Keep in mind though that these are all natural treats with no preservatives so I would only safely store them in a treat jar for 5 days. You can store them in the refrigerator for a month and the freezer for 3 months.
Show your doggie some love and bake these easy treats up today! <3
- 1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
- 1/4 cup old fashioned oats
- 1 egg
- 3/4 cup canned pumpkin (only use pure pumpkin puree, not the pie filling)
- 1/4 cup peanut butter (smooth or crunchy, I used all natural smooth)
- 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
- water (I used 1/8 cup of water, you may need more or less)
- Preheat oven to 350° F
- Place all ingredients in a bowl.
- Stir until thoroughly combined.
- Roll out dough to 1/4" thickness and cut with cookie cutters.
- Place on a greased baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes. (see note below for a dryer cookie)
- In addition to the 30 minute bake time, lower your oven to 200 degrees and bake for an hour. Check on them though to make sure they aren't getting too brown. Turn off oven and leave treats in the oven to cool.
Pumpkin Spice Buttermilk Pancakes for Two
Pancakes are my favorite thing to eat for breakfast! Eating them just makes me happy! I am always adding things in to take advantage of seasonal produce. Somehow I feel better about the indulgence if there is fruit inside of them! 🙂 I am on a pumpkin kick, but aren’t nearly all of us when fall rolls around? These cure my pumpkin and sweet craving all at once! The smell of the warm spices and the sweet butter and maple syrup all mingling together…yeah it’s divine! They only take a few minutes to put together, so get the coffee going and then get started on these and I promise you’ll be so glad you did!
The first thing I do is preheat the oven to 200 degrees. I can only fit 3 pancakes at a time in my skillet so you’ll want to put your first batch in the oven to stay warm. This recipe makes 6 pancakes if you use a 1/3 cup measuring cup for each pancake. Mix all of your dry ingredients together well in a medium bowl. Next, you’ll whisk all your wet ingredients together. Gently add your wet ingredients to your dry just until combined. It’s okay if you still see a few flour spots here and there. Now the hard part, let this batter rest for 10 minutes! Sometimes I fail at this but I noticed that my first batch aren’t nearly as fluffy as the second batch which sat out the full 10 minutes so go check your email or wash up the dishes you just messed up or set the table. 🙂 I like to spray my 1/3 cup measuring cup with a little cooking spray before I scoop out the batter. The batter slips out of the measuring cup so much easier if you do this. I cook them on medium-low for 4 minutes and then flip and cook for 3 minutes or until they get a little brown around the edges. Serve these with a little powdered sugar sprinkled on top and of course, butter and syrup! If you don’t have pumpkin pie spice I have a recipe on how to make it yourself here. –> Pumpkin Pie Spice.
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 2/3 cup buttermilk
- 2 tablespoons sour cream
- 1/3 cup pumpkin puree (I use canned pumpkin)
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vegetable oil, plus extra as needed, or spray with cooking spray
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 200 degrees. Set wire rack in rimmed baking sheet, spray with vegetable oil spray, and place in oven. This will keep the pancakes from getting soggy.
- Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices together in medium bowl. Whisk buttermilk, sour cream, pumpkin, melted butter, and egg together in separate bowl until smooth. Gently fold buttermilk mixture into flour mixture with rubber spatula until just combined. (Batter will be lumpy with a few spots of dry flour; do not overmix.) Let batter rest for 10 minutes before cooking.
- Heat oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. Using wad of paper towels, carefully wipe out oil, leaving thin film of oil on bottom and sides of skillet. Using 1/3-cup dry measure, portion batter into skillet in 3 places. Cook until edges are set, first side is golden brown, and bubbles on surface are just beginning to break, 3 to 4 minutes.
- Using thin, wide spatula, flip pancakes and continue to cook until second side is golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer pancakes to prepared wire rack (don't overlap them) in warm oven. Repeat with remaining batter, using more oil as needed. Sprinkle with powdered sugar if you like.
Pumpkin Pie Spice
I have WAY too many spices in my spice cabinet! My husband installed a really nice one too that is attached to the inside door of my pantry and it’s really large but I have it packed! The last thing I need are spice blends when I can easily make some with the spices I already have. When you are cooking for two it’s really hard to use up all of your spices before they expire although I do try! Making my own pumpkin pie spice really helps use up all those spices. I just store mine in an empty spice container from one of my used up spices! Recycling=Good! 🙂
I throw this spice blend in any recipe that has similar warm spices in the recipe and it’s really great! Put all the ground spices in your container and then give it a good shake! Find a place to cram it into your spice rack and you’re all set for fall baking! 🙂 Try out your new spice blend in these little yummy Pumpkin Spice Mini Muffins.
Pumpkin Pie Spice Recipe
- 3 tablespoons ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 2 teaspoons nutmeg
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cloves
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground allspice
- Combine spices in a small bowl, mix well to combine. Store in a small jar or spice container.
Pumpkin Spice Mini Muffins coated with Cinnamon-Sugar
The leaves are changing and the air is crisp and cool and it’s a lazy Saturday morning and that gives me the perfect excuse to make these soft, pillowy, perfect little mini muffins! Not that I really need an excuse to bake them! I love sweet things for breakfast and these are so perfect with a cup of coffee. They are super easy to throw together and very quick to bake so you can be eating them inside of 30 minutes or less!
When I’m baking muffins I figure while I’m at it anyway, I might as well make extra and freeze some so I can have an even lazier Saturday the next time I want these little muffins. To freeze I just line my mini muffin pan with paper liners and fill them 2/3 of the way full with the muffin batter and freeze them for about 6 hours. Once they’re frozen you can store them in ziploc bags and take them out and bake them as directed anytime you want them, adding 5 minutes to the bake time or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Be sure to put them in the mini muffin pan before baking them. You will be so happy when all you have to do is throw these in the oven because you took a few minutes to freeze the extra batter! I love freezing food ahead anytime I can, it just makes life so much more simple!
I like to make my own pumpkin pie spice. When you’re cooking for two it takes awhile to use up those spices in the spice cabinet so instead of buying another spice to go bad in my cabinet (I hate when that happens!) I make my own. It’s super simple to make your own and here’s how I do it: Pumpkin Pie Spice.
If you want a heartier breakfast pair these muffins with this easy omelet that you bake in a pan! You have to try this delicious omelet filled with onion, potatoes, bacon and cheese! YUM! Easy Hearty Omelette for Two.
The prep for the muffins is so easy, mix the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet in another then mix them together, gently. Once you mix them all together, get them in the prepared pan quickly as the leavening action starts happening right away. Mix up your cinnamon sugar while the muffins bake, and melt your butter separately once the muffins come out of the oven. Roll the muffins in the butter and then the cinnamon sugar and you’re done! The house smells SOOO good while these are baking! Okay enough talking, I’m going to grab my coffee and muffins and EAT!
- 1 3/4 cup white whole wheat flour or all purpose flour.
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
- 1/2 cup light or dark brown sugar, whatever you have on hand
- 1 large egg
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup canned pumpkin, NOT pumpkin pie filling
- 1/2 cup milk
- Melted butter, anywhere from 1/4 of a stick to 1/2 depending on if you bake the whole recipe now.
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 2 Tbsp cinnamon
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray mini muffin pan with non-stick spray.
- Combine the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and nutmeg in a large bowl.
- Whisk together the melted butter and brown sugar in a medium bowl. Add the egg and stir well. Add the vanilla, pumpkin, and milk. Add wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir just until combined. Don't over-stir or you'll end up with tough muffins.
- Spoon the batter into the muffin pan with a small spoon filling only 2/3 of the way.
- Bake for 11-12 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Mix the cinnamon and sugar for the coating while the muffins are baking. Once the muffins are cooling go ahead and melt your butter.
- Once the muffins have cooled some, dip into the melted butter and then into the cinnamon sugar.
- I only used 1/4 cup of sugar and 1 Tbsp of cinnamon for the coating as I only baked half the recipe and froze the remaining batter.
