Homemade Peanut Butter & Banana Dog Treats

I just don't bake for humans. I also bake for doggies. But let's make one thing clear, I don't have a doggie. I want a doggie. Like really badly. Really really badly. I think I am starting to sound like a Taylor Swift song. Oh wait, was that mean? Oops. The captain and I have plans to get our doggie from the pound someday (hopefully soon!) and once we do, I am sure he or she will become very frequent on my blog in pictures and in name. And even better, I can wait to make these fabulous and healthy yummy doggie treats for them.

I first made these doggie treats for a special treat for the captain's mom's doggies, Annie and Maggie. Annie has a food allergy, so I wanted to make sure I made these snacks something that wouldn't bother her tummy or make her sick. So, you'll be happy to know that these treats are also gluten free, dairy free and wheat free! Plus, they are only made with minimal ingredients - gluten free oats, oat flour (I bought gluten free), natural peanut butter (not the kind with oil, but fresh ground!), parsley, egg and banana. If you are not going for the whole gluten free thing, regular oats and oat flour will do just fine here. These treats are easy to whip up and bake up in just about 40 minutes. They smell so good while they are baking! Once they are golden brown, they are are good to go. Just make sure to let them cool before you feed them to your pooch. You don't want to burn that tongue! The bonus to these treats is that they are full of breath freshening parsley. Not only do doggies love the peanut butter part, but the bonus is that the treats also freshen their breath! That is a secret you don't need to tell Fido.

These treats will last up to a week in the fridge or if you want to make a large batch, you can keep them in your freezer and pull them out when you want to have treats on hand. Just make sure to defrost them so there is no teeth breakage. Now that would be an expensive vet bill!

mmm, peanut butter

whip that banana. whip it good.

add the oat flour

look at that breath freshening goodness

mix in the parsley

roll dough into balls and flatten

bake until golden brown!

Homemade Peanut Butter & Banana Dog Treats (Whole Foods Recipe)

1 banana, peeled
1 cup oat flour
2/3 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup dried parsley
3 tablespoons peanut butter (I grind my own, either at the store or at home. Just don't get the peanut butter with all that oil on top - that just won't work)
1 egg, beaten 

Preheat oven to 300°F. Put banana in a large bowl and use a spoon or potato masher to mash it thoroughly. Add oat flour, oats, parsley, peanut butter and egg and stir well to combine. Set aside for 5 minutes.

Roll mixture into 24 balls, using about 1 tablespoon dough for each; transfer to a large parchment paper-lined baking sheet as done. Use the back of a spoon or the heel of your hand to press each ball into a (1 1/2- to 2-inch) coin. Bake until firm and deep golden brown on the bottom, 40 to 45 minutes. Set aside to let cool completely. 

*note - if you are going for gluten free here, make sure to buy gluten free oats (you can find these at Trader Joes) and gluten free oat flour (can be found at most stores in the baking isle). 

woof, woof!