Homemade Apple Peanut Butter Dog Treats are amazingly healthy – with no sugar like you find in store bought! Just mix, roll, cut and bake! They are Dog tested and Mom approved!!
Friends, I dedicate this post to the big baby at our house – my 12 year old black lab named Woody who is completely blind, and has been a diabetic for 6 years. The first photo you see below is no optical illusion, his head really stands at kitchen island height ( yep, he is a big boy) and weighs in at a very thin 90 pounds. *Note – sadly, in these photos he had just had 2 cracked molars pulled out and was diagnosed with Stage 4 Lymphoma.
In an effort to keep some weight on my big guy, I created this recipe using Woody’s favorites, apples and peanut butter. They are easy to make, crunchy, and Woody goes crazy at the smell of them baking! If your “kids” love treats (and whose doesn’t, right?) I bet your fur babies will love these!
The 12 treats I get out of this dough are large and have 222 nutrient-packed calories each. This wasn’t an issue for Woody since he needed to maintain his weight, but you can make the treats a little smaller for less calories each if needed.
Update… Woody passed away 3 months after this post was originally published. It is comforting to think that Woody is in a better place, because I truly believe that all dogs go to Heaven.
So, let me share this awesome recipe with you! The ingredients for these cookies are super simple. Oat flour, unsweetened applesauce, natural peanut butter and eggs. To save money, I make my own oat flour by running whole rolled oats thru the food processor.
HOW TO MAKE OAT FLOUR FROM ROLLED OATS
Oat flour from the store can be costly, about 4 times the price of all-purpose flour. To make these treats more affordable, I make my own oat flour from store brand old-fashioned rolled oats.
The process is easy, just add rolled oats to a food processor and pulse until the oats look like rough sand. For every 2 cups of rolled oats, you will net about 1 cup of oat flour.
2 cups rolled oats = 1 cup processed oat flour
Making your oat flour allows for control of the grind. For Homemade Apple Peanut Butter Dog Treats, I make a coarse ground oat flour.
Then the oat flour, peanut butter, apple sauce and eggs are mixed in a bowl, forming the dough.
Form the dough into a flat ball and roll out on a floured surface.
Use a cookie cutter to make cute shapes!
These smell heavenly while baking. Woody sits by the stove waiting on them to come out. He also gets the little dough scraps.
Store tightly covered for up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator to preserve freshness. These dog treats can also be packed in a freezer-safe container and frozen for up to 3 months.
*NOTE – Make sure your Peanut Butter does not contain a sweetener called Xylitol , it can be poison to dogs!
If you love these dog treats, you might want to try a batch of Homemade Double Banana Dog Treats! Your furry friends will love them!
Homemade Apple Peanut Butter Dog Treats
Ingredients
- 4 cups Oat Flour more as needed
- 2/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1/2 cup natural peanut butter
- 2 large eggs
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F .
- Combine the oat flour, peanut butter, applesauce and eggs in a large bowl. Mix thoroughly. If the dough is sticky, add a little oat flour until you can handle the dough without it sticking to your hands.
- Transfer dough to a flat surface and roll out to about 1/4 inch thickness. Using a cookie cutter, cut our your shapes. I use a large heart shape cookie cutter and get about 12 large cookies from this recipe.
- Transfer onto a baking sheet lined with baking mat or parchment paper.
- Bake 20-25 minutes until the cookies are dry and starting to darken at the edges.
- Cool completely on a wire rack and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. OR freeze in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months.
Chef Tips
Equipment Used
Nutrition Facts
© Copyright Christine Mello for Must Love Home. We would love for you to share a link to this recipe but please do not copy/paste the recipe instructions to websites or social media. We are happy for you to share a photo with a link back to this website instead.
**For so much more that you need to know about Xylitol, you should definitely check out this amazing article, Definitive Guide to Xylitol and Dogs, by SimpleWag. It takes a comprehensive look at Xylitol and the dangerous effects it can have on your dog.
I made these and the Double Banana treats for the Bless the Pets event at the local animal shelter where I volunteer. I made extras for my girls at home…loved by all! My 2 go to doggy treat recipes from now on!
Hi Fran, that’s a great idea…I love when readers use what they have on hand! Thanks for sharing😃
Hi Fran, that’s a great idea! I love when readers change up the recipes to use what they have on hand! Thanks for letting us know!😁
I just made these I only had one egg so I added a little more applesauce it worked out really well ! I also made them smaller with a shot glass to cut them , I got 30 treats ! The pups love them !
Just made these I only had one egg so I added a little more applesauce it worked out really well ! I also made them smaller using a shot glass to cut them got 30 treats ! The pups loved them !
HI Debbie, so glad your angel loves them. I love the changes you made for your smaller dog! Thank you very much for the comment and rating!?
Make these for my small Havanese dog that is 2. She loves them. I make 1/2 a recipe and roll them thinner and use a small bone cookie cutter. The only change I have to make is cutting down the baking time. About 16 minutes is all they need for doing it this way. Thank you for this health recipe, Christine.
Thank you for the comment and rating! So glad Baby loves them…Woody really looked forward to these after his daily shot too?! I’m happy these are making things just a little easier for you!
I made these for Baby and she LOVES them! We give her one every time she has to get her insulin shot, and she just lays down and waits for them. Has made it easier on all of us. Thank you so very much for sharing the recipe. Getting ready to make a double batch tomorrow. Also appreciated the tip on using the oatmeal and grinding it up. These are so easy to make!
Hi Diane, I’m so sorry to hear about Baby. Our “babies” strength and determination while living with diabetes is something we can all learn from. Woody loved these treats…I made them large because, just like Baby, he needed to keep on the weight. I wish you both all the best!
Thank you for sharing this recipe. Very excited to try them. We just found out our black lab, Baby; is diabetic. She’s lost 25 pounds and I’m trying to put some weight back on her. She’s now almost completely blind. She has such a gentle spirit. It’s sad to watch. My heart goes out to you with Woody. They are our babies.
Hi Madison, yes, these can be made without the egg. You can sub in more applesauce…or use a banana or some yogurt. You’ll need to play with the amounts so you get a dough that you can still roll out. Good luck!?
Hi, im wondering if these could be made without the egg? And instead sub for a little bit more applesauce? Or do you not reccomend that? Thanks so much, I can’t wait to make these!
Hi Alexis, I do recommend that these treats be refrigerated for up to 2 weeks. They can also be placed in a freezer-safe container and frozen for up to 3 months. Thanks for the question?!
Hi Christine,
I was wondering how long you can keep these for and if you have to refrigerate them?
Hi Maribridgett, yes you can substitute pumpkin puree, but you may need to add a few tablespoons of water or unsalted broth to the dough before rolling. The applesauce generally has more moisture than the pumpkin, so the dough may be too dry to hold together without the added liquid. I would start with one tablespoon of liquid first, and keep adding by the tablespoon until the dough is workable. Hope that helps ?!
I’m thinking about making these as part of my pup’s birthday present which is coming up soon. Could the applesauce be switched out for pumpkin, by any chance? Pumpkin is his favorite! 🙂
Hi Kimberly, I am so happy your dogs approved..and you are so welcome! My “kids” come running whenever they see me get out the rolling pin because they think treats will be coming soon. Gosh, how I hate to disappoint them sometimes:)
THANK YOU, you just saved our family $ dollars….. Both dogs totally approved and gobbled them up.
Thank you for sharing this awesome recipe, it’s just what I needed for my hungry dog!
This post for Homemade Apple Peanut Butter Dog Treats has helped me a lot with
my diabetic dog too. He loves them. Thanks for sharing!
Hi Raenell, I’m not a veterinarian, but I did get the okay from our dog’s vet for all the ingredients. I made these for Woody, who was a diabetic for 6 years before he passed away at 12. I limited him to one per day, and he loved them! Hope that helps!?
I am thinking about making these for my mom’s diabetic dog but I just want to make sure that these are really ok for diabetic dogs. I don’t want to put my mom’s dog into a diabetic coma!
Hi Kat, though I haven’t frozen this exact dough, I would say 3 – 6 months like most other cookie doughs that contain eggs. Just wrap the dough tightly in plastic and thaw before rolling and cutting. There should be enough peanut butter (fat) in the dough to make that possible.Hope that helps?.
hello, how long can this dough be frozen for? Thanks!
Hi Dennis, thanks for the comment. Yes, each large cookie contains 222 calories, with a lot of those calories coming from the natural peanut butter, which has about 95 calories per tablespoon. Just to compare, a large milk-bone style dog biscuit, with it’s wheat flour, beef lard and salt has 125 calories. Have a good one!?.
Counting calories for my Boy, read it to him and sounds like he is interested. Just a question although before making them,; 222 calories per serving?
Hi Emily, that’s a great question. Yes, these can be made as no-bake “treat balls” without the eggs. Just roll the dough into balls and refrigerate to firm up. You may need to add a little more applesauce depending on how much powder supplement you are adding. I use balls like these to stick medication into (pills) to get my very suspicious fur babies to take their meds. Hope that helps ?!
I’m looking for a way to get a powder supplement into my fur baby that isn’t over her food (it gets wet when she eats and sticks to the bowl so she isn’t getting all that she needs) would this recipe work as a no bake option if you take the eggs out?
Hi Kim, thanks for the comment! I also give these treats for being good after my furry kids takes their medication! Check out my other dog treat recipes and let me know what you think. Have a great one!
I make these apple/peanut butter cookies for my 10 year old diabetic dog. These are her treat for being a good girl getting her shot. Of course I get a lot more cookies than 12 cookies out of the batch. Smaller dog/smaller cookie! Thank you for this. If u have others pls let me know.
Feel free to use what kind of oat flour you like. There are oats in my dogs prescription dog food and it is not organic, so I am comfortable feeding them a good quality non-organic rolled oat product. Thanks for your concern!
Shouldnt the oat flour, be organic? Im sure these oat crops are sprayed with roundup. I have only seen non organic in the store. Can’t wait to try this. Thanks.
You are welcome! My “kids” love them too! I make these a lot, so I’ve started mixing double batches of the dough and freezing half of it to bake later as a time saver! Thanks for the comment and rating…I appreciate it.
Made these for my dog and my grand dogs for Christmas. They love them. Making more today! Thank you for sharing your recipe.
It’s awesome when the “kids” get excited over treats! When mine see the rolling pin come out, they station themselves under the kitchen island, assuming I am making them cookies. The large bone shape cutter gets lots of use around here because my two are both over 80 pounds.Thanks for letting me know you liked it!
Thank you so much for this recipe. My furbabies absolutely love them. The minute I ask who wants a cookie they are all excited. Since I have miniature dachshunds I use a small bone cookie cutter and I fill up a Gladware container full from just one batch.
I am so glad your dog likes them! Your comment really made my day:)
My dog begged so hard for these. He’s obsessed with them.
Absolutely, they freeze very well. Have a great one!
Can you freeze these?
Thank you for the comment and the tips. I just starting rolling everything between parchment or plastic to make life that much easier…who needs a sticky counter top anyway! So glad your pups loved them and what a great idea for Halloween, I would never have thought of that! Have a great one!
I just made these and they are 100% approved by my 2 Cavapoo dogs. Super easy to make and I had all the ingredients on hand. After I ground up the oats I dumped all the ingredients back into the food processor and mixed it in that so there was only one bowl. I didn’t use Natural peanut butter but it was without any artificial sweetners. I also rolled the dough between two sheets of suran wrap so added oat flour didn’t dry out the dough. Thanks for the recipe. I’m going to hand them out to trick or treat doggies going around the neighborhood tonight. Happy Halloween!
Thank you! You are right…I am going to make these with my grandson the next time…he’s only 2 so there may be dough eating involved! Have a great one!
You are welcome! To answer your question: They don’t have to be, but I keep them in the refrigerator and they are good for about 2 weeks. Honestly, with my two labs, we go thru ALOT of treats so I have never had them beyond 2 weeks. Good luck and thanks for stopping by.
These look great !It would be fun to make with kids!
Thanks for sharing! Do they keep long?
Hi Kim,
I use kroger brand Natural Creamy Peanut Butter. It’s the kind that you need to stir before using and then refrigerate. It contains roasted peanuts and salt…and nothing else. I hope that answers you question. Have a super day! Christine
what brand of “natural” PB do you use?
Hi, these treats are not hard, like a dog biscuit. They are firm, and slightly chewy. How chewy depends on how long you bake them in the oven. I created these treats for our senior, diabetic dog. These were perfect for his older teeth. He has since passed on from cancer. I am now baking these for our 5 month old puppy and using them for training. She is able to handle these with her teeth.And yes, they are perfectly safe for humans…my adult son loves them (though he gets a stern “NO” when he touches them!) I hope that answers your questions…let me know if you have any others! Christine
Are they hard or soft? (and can they share them with their humans?)
We’ve been thinking a lot about our dog’s nutrition, she’s just been lethargic lately, which is unlike her. Will make these to trade out with her store bought treats. Thanks!
Oh i would love to try these! I also love your oatmeal container!!! I would love for you to come over and participate in my Monday of Many blessings Link Up!!
I’m going to try these. Hopefully my dog will like them.