At risk of sounding like a crazy dog lady, I will admit that I absolutely love baking for my boys. It is an easy way to satisfy my daily desire to bake something, which is nice, but I also feel great knowing every ingredient in my dogs treats. This recipe is simple, easy to whip up and contains ginger with its wonderful anti-inflammatory and digestive benefits, turmeric with its antioxidants and joint help, plus ground cinnamon, which also has great anti-inflammatory properties, along with antioxidants that help to improve cognitive function and regulation of blood sugar. Great ingredients packed into a tasty treat that your four legged friends will really appreciate.
Let’s get them started…
This recipe will give you approximately 100 small bones or about 45 large bones. I have one very small dog and one very large dog, so I cut out a few different sizes, so I have a variety of bones for them.
To begin, you will need 2 large eggs, 1/3 cup of creamy peanut butter (make sure that it does not contain xylitol), 2 small mashed bananas, 1/2 teaspoon of turmeric, 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon of ground ginger and about 2 1/2 cups of organic wheat flour.
Grab a large bowl and preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Combine 2 large eggs, 1/3 cup of creamy peanut butter, 2 small mashed bananas, 1/2 teaspoon of turmeric, 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon and 1/4 teaspoon of ground ginger and whisk until smooth and fully combined.
Begin adding wheat flour 1/4 cup at a time, mixing to incorporate as you go.
You are looking for a soft kneadable dough that is not at all sticky. This dough will be rolled out and the bones will be cut out using cookie cutters, so look for a consistency that is not sticky, but will easy hold together in your hand.
Once your dough feels good, knead it a bit in the bowl. Press down hard with your knuckles, fold a corner of the dough over into the center and then press it down and out again. Do this a few times, then shape the dough into a ball and transfer it onto a smooth counter top or a large sheet of parchment paper light dusted with additional wheat flour.
Roll the dough out, lightly dusting with additional wheat flour, if necessary. You have some flexibility with the thickness of the dough. I work for about 1/4 inch thickness, but you can make them a bit thicker, which will result in a more chewy bone or even thinner, which will be a bit more cracker like in texture.
Once your dough is rolled out, cut out your bones. I found these adorable dog bone cutters at the grocery, but you can use any shape you like! Over Valentines Day, I used little hearts and before I found the dog bone shaped cutters, I used little round cookie cutters. Your dogs will love all shapes and sizes, so use what you have!
Transfer the cut out shapes onto a dry baking sheet and gather up the scraps. Re-knead the scraps to bring them back together and roll them out. Continue rolling and cutting until you have used as much of the dough as possible.
Bake the bones in a preheated 350 degree oven for 15 minutes for softly set bones and 20-22 minutes for harder, more crispy bones.
Once the bones are baked to your dogs liking, transfer them onto a cooling rack. They will continue to crisp a bit more as they cool and once they have cooled to room temperature, have your pup try them out…
Not only are my boys obsessed with these peanut butter banana bones, but they are also the perfect vessel for practicing their world famous “bone on the nose” trick. Look at that concentration… Twinkie is quite epic.
Well, I hope your dogs love these tasty snacks as much as Twinkie and Kuro do! They are fun to make, full of healthy goodies and the perfect way to show your furry pal just how much you love them.
Peanut Butter Banana Dog Bones
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups organic whole wheat flour
- 2 large eggs
- 1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
- 2 small bananas, peeled, mashed smooth
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees
- Add 2 large eggs, 1/3 cup of creamy peanut butter, 2 small mashed bananas, 1/2 teaspoon of turmeric, 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon and 1/4 teaspoon of ground ginger in a large bowl and whisk until smooth and fully combined
- Begin adding wheat flour 1/4 cup at a time, mixing to incorporate as you go, until a kneadable non-sticky dough develops
- Transfer the dough onto a lightly floured surface and gently roll it out to approximately 1/4” thick (additional instructions below)
- Cut your desired shapes using cookie cutters, pastry cutters or a sharp knife
- Transfer the bones onto a dry baking sheet
- Bake in a 350 degree oven for 15-22 minutes or until they reach your desired level of crispness
- Transfer the baked treats onto a cooling rack to cool fully before serving
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature
