peanut butter – Bakerholics Anonymous

I really felt like baking today, but after having had my wisdom teeth surgically removed last Tuesday, I am still not up to eating much myself. Instead, I decided to bake some homemade dog treats for Bailey who has been an incredibly sweet and loyal companion while I’ve been housebound post-op.

Bailey LOVES peanut butter so I knew that had to be the main flavour, and I wanted the treats to be as natural as possible and preferably have breath freshening properties (as she loves a good snog!) I found a recipe on Pinterest which I adapted to suit my needs, and these quick, crunchy biscuits were the result. I made a few large bone biscuits (pictured) as well as some little hearts and they have certainly passed Bailey’s taste test.

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Ingredients (makes ~32 biscuits, dependent on size)
1 ½ cups instant oats (or rolled oats)
½ cup peanut butter (as natural as possible, definitely NOT containing xylitol or artificial sweeteners as these are toxic to dogs)
1 overripe banana
A small handful each of mint & parsley

Preheat oven to 180°C. Line 2 trays with baking paper.

Blitz the oats in a food processor until fine. Add the peanut butter, banana and herbs and blitz until combined.

Scoop out onto a lightly floured surface and cut “dough” into desired shapes (I used a large bone and little heart shaped cutters). Carefully place on the prepared baking paper, leaving a small space between each biscuit. Prick the large bone shaped biscuits with a fork.

Bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. Allow to cool and then store in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks. Watch your canine companion enjoy!

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Adapted from ‘3-Ingredient Puppy Treat Recipe’ on CraftyMorning.com

This fudge is so easy it almost doesn’t qualify as a recipe. 5 ingredients. 5 steps. 5 minutes. Good as gold!

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Ingredients (makes ~30 pieces)
¾ cup good quality peanut butter (smooth or crunchy will work)
225g white chocolate
225g dark chocolate
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch sea salt

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Method
Line a 12 x 22cm loaf pan with baking paper.

Melt dark and white chocolate in separate bowls in the microwave.

Combine half of the peanut butter with the white chocolate and stir until smooth. Add in vanilla extract and sea salt to taste. Combine the remaining peanut butter with the dark chocolate. Allow both mixtures to cool slightly.

Drop alternate spoonfuls of white and dark chocolate mixtures into the pan and shake to level the mixture. To get the swirly marbled effect, pull a skewer through the mixture.

Refrigerate until set. Cut into squares. Enjoy!

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