Cupcake a Week: Peanut Butter Pupcakes

Meet Tillman. This is my 11 year old baby that stares back at me all day long. Don't you just love these eyes? He's my only means of communication during the day since I work from home. He keeps me company laying beside my desk sleeping the day away, snoring occasionally while I stare at my computer for hours on end. He's got a rough life...sleeping, eating, wagging his tail, taking walks and sleeping some more. I'd love to be a dog for a day! Don't let his size scare you though, he is seriously a big teddy bear and the sweetest dog you will ever meet. He loves to cuddle and is spoiled rotten. He knows how to give you that sad puppy dog face when you are eating a plate full of food, anxiously awaiting to lick up any scraps. So I thought I would spoil Tillman a little more and make him a special batch of "pupcakes"...you know cupcakes for dogs!

These pupcakes were super easy to make and include some great ingredients like peanut butter, honey, apples and whole wheat flour. Any dog is sure to love these, Tillman sure did. I made larger size cupcakes, b/c well my dog is huge and pretty much swallowed these whole in one bite, but if you have a small dog I recommend making them as mini cupcakes!

Of course I had to document with photos Tillman's first taste of a pupcake...

A little bribery to get the drool going...

Open wide, be sure to release pupcake before your fingers get caught inside of those canines!

The entire pupcake is inside his mouth, all in one bite.

Gulp. Pupcake is gone...mmmm mmmm good!

These eyes get me every time, I just love looking at them, so precious.

Can I have another pupcake? Of course I gave in and gave him not 1 but 2 more pupcakes!

If you love your pup make them a batch of pupcakes today!

Peanut Butter Pupcakes (recipe adapted from bakespace.com)

Makes 16 standard size cupcakes

Ingredients:
-1 apple, finely chopped (I used granny smith)
-2 cup water
-1 egg
-3 cups whole wheat flour
-1 tablespoon baking powder
-2 tablespoons honey
-1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

• Combine all ingredients in bowl except peanut butter and mix well.
  
• Mix in peanut butter.
• Spray cupcake pan with cooking spray.
• Fill cupcake pan about 2/3 full with batter.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.

Another of of Tillman's favorite treats are these Honey Love Biscuits.

Do you have any great recipes for dogs? I'd love to hear about them, I'm always looking for special treats for my pup!

Countdown to Christmas Day 15: Honey Love Dog Biscuits

Happy Dec 15th! Wow, I can't believe Christmas is in 10 days, I'm so excited! And at this time next week I will be in the car starting my 11 hour, 725 mile drive from Mobile, AL to my hometown which is at the very northern tip of KY to see my family for the holidays! Since we will be in the car for a VERY LONG time and we will have our 110 lb black lab, Tillman with us for the ride, I wanted to make him a very special treat for our trip. After all, it is the holidays and we can't forget about our four-legged friends, even they need some Christmas cookies!


So for those of you that LOVE your dogs, bake them a batch of these Honey Love Biscuits, they will absolutely go crazy for them! Last year I bought this container of dog biscuit recipes and cookie cutters to put in Tillman's stocking. When I saw the cute little boxes filled with dog goodies I just couldn't resist...I mean how cute are the fire hydrant, dog bone and heart shape cookie cutters? I knew Tillman would love these.


So last Christmas was the first time I made these treats for Tillman, when I was in KY at my mom's house. I have continued to make them several times throughout the year for him as well. But now that I am in the middle of baking all of my holiday cookies for family, friends and neighbors, I wanted to take a break and make something special for my dog too.


This recipe is extremely easy and it makes a ton of treats so you can keep them for your own dog or put some in a bag tied with a bow and pass out to all your friends that have dogs.


Here's my big old boy, Tillman...right now I'm tempting him with a honey love biscuit. I'm a mean mom, I knew the only way he would keep those reindeer antlers on is if I held a biscuit over his head and bribed him. But sure enough my plan worked, I was able to get a semi-decent photo of Tillman with antlers, in front of our Christmas tree with the biscuit. Now that takes some quick skills, because Tillman gets so hyper whenever he knows he is about to get some treats!


Tillman just ate his first honey love biscuit and is smiling from ear to ear because it was so yummy!



Honey Love Dog Biscuits

Makes 2 to 3 pounds biscuits

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups whole-wheat flour
1/2 cup soy flour or white corn flour
1/2 cups nonfat dry milk
6 tablespoons vegetable shortening
1 large egg
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup fresh beef or chicken broth, or sufficient for processing

• Position rack in the center of the oven and preheat at 350 degrees. Have two ungreased baking trays ready.
• In a large bowl, using a fork or wire whisk, combine the two flours and dry milk. Using a pastry cutter or two knives, cut in the shortening until the mixture resembles fine crumbs.
• In a small bowl, using a wire whisk or electric mixer on medium speed, beat the egg until foamy before beating in the honey and broth.
• Using a large spoon, a spatula, or your hands, combine the mixes, blending until mixture pulls away from the sides of the bowl and forms a soft dough.
• Turn the dough onto a lightly floured flat surface, and using a rolling pin, roll it out to 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Using the cookie cutters provided in this kit, cut out as many biscuits as you can, reworking the scraps as you go. The dough will become very stiff as it is reworked.
• Place the biscuits side by side on the baking trays and bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until the biscuits appear very dry and the edges are light golden brown. Remove the trays from the oven and cool to room temperature. Turn off the oven.
• When the biscuits have cooled completely, put all of them on a single baking tray and return them to the cooling oven. Leave them undisturbed, without opening the oven door, for 8 to 16 hours.
• Please Note: Some dogs may be allergic to corn-based products. Biscuits also contain honey.

Your dog is going to love you if you bake these for them!