This post was originally published on March 23, 2018 and was updated on March 23, 2021. Pupcakes with peanut butter frosting are a delicious dessert to bake for your four-legged friend! Made with whole-grain flour, pumpkin puree, and the natural sweetness of bananas and honey they are a true delight for the dog in your life!
I know I’m not the only one who loves to make homemade treats for my dog. I also know I’m not the only one who takes pride in providing healthy, good-for-you food to my canine companion.
Here’s everything you’ll need to make homemade dog cupcakes
- Quick Cooking Oats – oats are a wonderful source of fiber for dogs (and people too)!
- Baking Powder & Baking Soda – standard baking leaveners.
- Pumpkin Puree – loaded with vitamins and fiber, pumpkin is great in a dog’s diet.
- Banana – to add a little natural sweetness as well as necessary vitamins.
- Egg – for protein! And to bind the dough just like with a regular cupcake recipe.
- Honey – not too much, again, just to add a touch of sweetness.
- Coconut Oil – A little bit of healthy fat for fido.
- Water – to add moisture to the batter without any extra calories or hard-to-digest ingredients for your dog!
- Cream Cheese – a little bit of cream cheese is A-OK for your dog! Just remember, it’s high in fat so as with any other ingredient that is high in fat, it should be used sparingly.
- Peanut Butter – another great source of protein, healthy fats, and vitamins!
How to make this recipe
- Make the oat flour. By pulsing the oats in a food processor until smooth. Then pulse in the baking powder and baking soda to combine. Pour the contents into a large glass bowl and set aside.
- Whisk the wet ingredients together. Just put everything in a large measuring cup and give it a good stir.
- Mix the batter. By adding the wet ingredients into the dry.
- Portion and bake. In a cupcake pan coated with baking spray.
- Make the frosting. While the cupcakes cool. It’s just softened cream cheese and peanut butter, how easy!
- Frost the cupcakes. And garnish with a little dog treat if you’re feeling fancy!
Make the oat flour in a food processor. Mix the wet ingredients. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry. Portion the batter into prepared pan and bake. Make the two-ingredient frosting. Frost the pupcakes and serve.
Recipe Tips and Substitutions
Whole wheat flour can be substituted for the homemade oat flour, if desired.
Organic, unsweetened applesauce can be used in place of the mashed banana (use ⅔ cup of the applesauce) and/or honey.
Whole milk Greek yogurt can be mixed with the peanut butter in place of the cream cheese, if desired. Simply stir together the peanut butter with 1 cup of the plain yogurt. This will, however, create more of a “glaze” than a frosting, but your dog will still adore it!
This recipe can be baked in a 9x9 square pan for 35-40 minutes at 350 degrees. Then cool and frost the cake as you would a normal cake.
Storing leftovers
The pupcakes are best served the day they are made, but obviously your dog doesn’t need 12 treats! Leftovers are best kept stored in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Unfrosted pupcakes can be wrapped in plastic wrap and frozen in zip-close bags for up to two months. Thaw in the refrigerator before frosting and serving.
Pupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting
Equipment
- Cupcake Pan
- Portion Scoop
Ingredients
For the dog cupcakes:
- 2 cups instant oats
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 16 ounces pumpkin puree
- 1 banana mashed
- 1 egg
- ¼ cup coconut oil melted and cooled
- ¼ cup wildflower honey
- ½ cup water
For the peanut butter frosting:
- 1 cup smooth peanut butter
- 8 oz. cream cheese at room temperature
Instructions
For the dog cupcakes:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly coat a muffin tin with baking spray and set aside.
- Pulse the oats in a food processor until they create a smooth oat flour. Add the baking powder and baking soda and pulse to combine. Pour dry ingredients into a mixing bowl and set aside.
- In a large measuring cup, whisk together the pumpkin, banana, egg, coconut oil, honey, and water. Pour into dry ingredients and stir to combine.
- Using a portion scoop, divide batter among prepared pan and bake in preheated over for 18 – 20 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool to room temperature.
- While the pupcakes cool, prepare the peanut butter frosting.
For the frosting:
- Cream together the peanut butter and cream cheese until smooth. Pipe or spread onto cool pupcakes. Garnish with a small dog treat, if desired.
Notes
- Leftover pupcakes can be stored in the fridge in an airtight container for up to four days.
- See full post for recipe substitutions.
- Recipe adapted from Damn Delicious.
Omg wow that peanut butter frosting looks incredible! Happy birthday to Edgar! (: