Please Your Pet’s Palate With These Paw-some Recipes

The saying goes that our pets are like our children, and we always want the best for our children, right?

Whether you want to introduce healthier snacks into your pet’s diet or give a reward for good behavior, preparing a homemade treat may do the trick.

Try one of these recipes at home and you’ll become pet owner of the year – in your pet’s eyes, at least.

Pupsicles

Need a tasty treat to cool down Rover on a hot August day? Ditch the doggie ice cream for a peanut butter and strawberry popsicle, courtesy of pastry chef Ashley Corrao of Twenty-Eight Atlantic, a AAA Four Diamond Rated restaurant in East Harwich, Mass. Dogs will enjoy licking the half-peanut butter, half-strawberry popsicle until it’s gone.

Ingredients

½ cup strawberries
1/3 cup peanut butter
1 1/2 tablespoons water

1. Blend strawberries and water in the mixer until smooth.
2. Fill ice cube tray with peanut butter, stopping halfway.
3. Fill remaining half of ice cube tray with strawberry mixture.
4. Freeze until solid.

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A Dog-gone Delightful Biscuit

Speaking of peanut butter, chef Adam Noe of the AAA Four Diamond Rated Topnotch Resort in Stowe, Vt., shared a recipe for peanut butter and pumpkin dog treats. These bone-shaped biscuits are made with nutrition-packed pumpkin puree and whole-wheat flour, so you can feel good about what you’re feeding Fido.

Ingredients

1 1/3 cups pumpkin puree
½ cup smooth peanut butter
4 large eggs
3 cups whole-wheat flour

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix all wet ingredients until smooth.
3. Slowly add flour until dough is no longer sticky.
4. Roll out dough to ¼-inch thickness.
5. Cut out desired shapes (e.g. bones).
6. Place on greased sheet pan.
7. Bake 20-25 minutes until edges are golden.
8. Let cool completely.

Kitty Kisses

This recipe for kitty kisses from www.allrecipes.com uses only two ingredients: catnip and canned wet cat food. Blend together and form into “kisses” shapes to make a mouthwatering snack.

Ingredients

3-ounce can wet cat food
1 teaspoon catnip

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper.
3. Place the cat food and catnip in a blender. Cover and puree until smooth, or until the puree looks like frosting.
4. Spoon pureed cat food into a resealable plastic bag. Cut a small hole in the corner of the bag.
5. Squeeze ½-inch “kisses” shapes onto the prepared baking sheets. Bake for 15 minutes.
6. Let cool completely and store in an airtight container.

Ask a veterinarian before introducing new foods into your pet’s diet.

What homemade treats do you like to make for your pet? Tell us in the comments below!

Enjoy a post-snack backyard game with your four-legged friend.