Blueberries are finally in season, so bring your pup to your local blueberry patch and pick up some fresh berries to mix into your treats! Blueberries are a great snack for dogs both alone, or baked into treats, and provide a number of health benefits thanks to their high levels of antioxidants, fiber, and vitamins C and K.
Check out these 3 easy and delicious blueberry dog treat recipes:
Crunchy Blueberry Dog Treats
Ingredients:
1 cup blueberries (fresh, frozen, or dried)
¾ cup oats
2 ½ cup whole wheat flour
2 eggs
3 tablespoons peanut butter
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
⅛ - ½ cup warm water
Directions:
- First, preheat your oven to 350°F.
- Next, add your blueberries to your mixing bowl. (If you are using frozen blueberries, smash them around a little with your mixer. This will help break up the big blueberries into smaller pieces and mash some of the juices out. If you are using fresh or dried blueberries, give them a rough chop so that they are easier to smush around in the dough.)
- Now, add your oats and mash them up with the blueberries.
- Lastly, add your flour, eggs, kosher salt, peanut butter, and cinnamon.
- Mix together until everything is mostly combined - it will be a bit dry and crumbly. Add about ⅛ cup of warm water to the dough, and mix until it sticks together in a ball. If the dough still seems dry, continue adding warm water in ⅛ - ¼ cup increments.
- Next, flour a clean surface to roll out your dough with a rolling pin.
- Roll the dough out to about ½ an inch thick. It doesn't have to be perfect, but you don't want to make these really thin or they will burn. If you make them a little too thick, you can get away with just cooking them for a little longer.
- Next, cut out your treats using your favorite cookie-cutters. (If you don't want to use a cookie-cutter, you can also use a pizza cutter or sharp knife and just cut 1 x 1-inch squares or 1 x 2-inch rectangles. )
- Place your cookies on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or a non-stick baking mat. They don't have to be spaced too far apart because they won't really expand, but they will stick together if they are touching.
- Bake in the oven at 350°F for 40 minutes, until the biscuits are hard/crunchy.
- Let the treats cool off, then share with your favorite pup!
Banana Blueberry Dog Treats
Ingredients:
3 cups old-fashioned oats
2 eggs (large)
1 medium banana
3/4 cup blueberries
1/2 cup flour
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Add oats to the bowl of a food processor. Let machine run for 2 - 3 minutes, until oats are almost flour consistency with a few big pieces left.
- Add eggs, banana, blueberries and flour to the food processor and pulse 10 - 15 times to break everything up and get it incorporated into the dough.
- Let the machine run for 30 - 60 seconds until the dough is uniform, then turn off and remove bowl.
- Scoop with small cookie scoop and drop on a parchment (or silpat)-lined sheet pan.
- Flatten tops with wet fingers to form a circle.
- Bake for 18 - 20 minutes, rotating halfway through.
- Cool completely before giving to your dog.
Blueberry Pup Muffins
Ingredients:
olive oil
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 eggs separated
½ cup unsweetened natural applesauce no sugar added
2 tablespoon water
1 cup blueberries
Directions:
- Pre-heat the oven to 350°. Lightly grease a mini muffin pan with a little olive oil.
- Combine the rolled oats and whole wheat flour in a large bowl. Stir in the egg yolks, applesauce and water. The mixture will be thick. Gently stir in the blueberries. Beat the egg whites to stiff peaks using an electric hand mixer and then fold the egg whites into the batter. Spoon the batter into the prepared mini muffin pan.
- Bake at 350ºF for 25 minutes, until batter has set and is lightly browned.
- Transfer the pan to a cooling rack and let the pup-muffins cool completely before treating your pup.
- Store in airtight container for 1 week or up to 3 weeks in the refrigerator. (Muffins can also be frozen.)
