“A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself.” Josh Billing
It is true. Dogs love with their whole hearts, give us love, trust and comfort. I am the proud dog mom to two shelter adopted girls. My family includes my girls in all of the holiday celebrations and the girls get their own birthdays and subsequent birthday parties. (Disclaimer: both of the dogs are adopted, we had to make up their birthdays.)
This year my oldest lady turned the ripe old age of five, and as a lady (of any species) she should celebrate her day with friends and fun. So I called her friend’s dog mom, and invited them over for a pup-soiree. For our pup-soiree we decided to serve doggie-apple nuggets, pupcakes, dog beer and dog ice cream. All of these treats are easy to make a home, and offer a healthy alternative to some store bought options. Plus I never turn down a chance to bake for a special occasion.
For the Doggie Apple Nuggets we used:
¼ c. of apples ( I used ambrosia because it is what I had on hand)
½ c. of unsweetened apple sauce
⅛ c. of milk
2 beaten eggs
1 c. of flour
1 tsp. of baking soda
2 tsp of cinnamon
Mini muffin baking tin
Preheat: oven to 350° F
Combine dry ingredients in a medium sized bowl, add in half of the apple pieces, coding them with the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl combine the eggs, milk, applesauce and remaining apple pieces. In the dry ingredient bowl, make a hole in the center- adding in the wet ingredients and stirring well.
Spoon into greased or non-stick mini muffin tin and bake for ten minutes.
**With a few minute changes, this could be a really good and healthy people friendly snack too!
The pupcakes were the most complicated of the dog food items made for the pup-soiree. They are well worth it, as they are both healthy and a hit with all the pups big and small.
For the Pupcakes we used:
¼ c of vegetable oil
1 tsp of baking soda
⅓ c of one minute oats
1 c of flour
1 tsp of vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 banana (cut up)
1 c of shredded carrots
¼ c of honey
⅓ c of peanut butter (creamy)
Muffin tin and Liners
Preheat oven: 350°
Combine sliced banana, eggs, peanut butter, oil, carrots, vanilla and honey in a medium sized bowl, set aside. Combine baking soda, flour, and oats into a second medium sized bowl. Incorporate both bowls, making a batter with a very thick consistency. Fill your muffin liners about ½ full and bake for 13-15 minutes.
We let the pupcakes cool for about an hour before icing them.
For the Icing we used:
⅓ c of peanut butter
⅓ c of plain greek yogurt
For doggie ice cream we used:
2 apples (again I had ambrosia on hand)
1 cup of unflavored greek yogurt
½ Cup of water
Blender
Dice and de-core the apples; toss the cores, seeds and stems. Combine the apples, yogurt and water in the blender, and put the blender on liquefy. After the ‘batter’ is liquefied- place in ice cube trays, we used mustache, star and flower ice cube trays- so this recipe made 36 ice cream cubes. Place your trays in a flat place in the freezer and leave them for a couple of hours.
For the Dog beer we used:
¼ C. of beef stock
¼ C of molasses
½ C of hot water
This one is easy as 1-2-3! Just mix all the ingredients together and you’ve got yourself a warm dog beer. Refrigerate for a couple of hours, and as long as it is in an airtight container- it can stay fresh for a handful of days. It has the consistency/coloration of cold brewed coffee so you may have to label it in your fridge to avoid mishaps. It is served cold and it is a nice healthy reward for dogs of all ages.
All of our friends (dog and human alike) had fun this weekend thanks to our dog party- we even packed some doggie boxes for our friends who couldn’t make it! Unfortunately due to excitement, and treats most of the photos of our event are blurry, out of focus or otherwise unusable- but here are some gems.
These recipes can really be used at any time or for any occasion, whether you’re throwing a dog party or you just want to do something special for your best friend.
