Pumpkin Peanut Butter Dog Treats

vegan, gluten-free, refined sugar-free

Adapted from recipe on It Doesn't Taste Like Chicken

If you like making food for people, I'm sure you'll like making food for dogs (after all, they'll appreciate almost anything you make for them!). These balls are about as simple as it gets with only 3 ingredients are no baking required. In case you didn't know, dogs love pumpkin and peanut butter, and pumpkin is really good for their digestive systems.
​As soon as I started stirring this together, Pansy ran into the kitchen and put on her most pitiful begging face, sticking her bottom lip out like she's pouting! Somehow she just knew I was making these for her. She was relieved when I let her sample one ball and lick the bowl out afterwards. Dogs are good kitchen helpers like that!

Yield: about 75 treats / Prep time: 20 min

Ingredients:​

• 1 cup rolled oats (old fashioned, quick, or instant)
• 1/3 cup pumpkin pureé (not pumpkin pie filling)
• 1/4 cup natural peanut butter

Directions:

1. ​Add the oats to a food processor or blender and grind until they reach a fine powder.
2. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the oat powder, pumpkin, and peanut butter until a sticky dough is formed.
3. Roll dough into bite-sized balls and place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment or waxed paper.*
4. Cover and place in the refrigerator until firm (about 1 hour).
5. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator or freezer.**

*I like to make the balls small so they can be used as training treats, but you can make them larger or you could even roll out the dough and use cookie-cutters to make fun shapes - whatever you and your dog prefer!
​**These will keep for about 1 week in the refrigerator, or several months in the freezer. Many dogs love frozen treats - so no need to thaw before serving.