There is a special joy that comes with making homemade dog treats. You have loved my 3 Ingredient Dog Treats so it was about time I created another treat recipe for you. These pumpkin puppy pretzels couldn’t be cuter!
4 ingredients
Soft or crunchy
Simple to make
And Thrifty!
Cost Of Homemade Dog Treats
Besides the joy of spending a little bit of time making something special for your dog you can delight in the fact that homemade treats are so much thriftier!
This recipe makes 16 treats (weighing 270 g) and costs me just over $2 Canadian.
If you wanted to shape these treats differently you could certainly get even more treats out of this dough. Even as pretzels though, these are quite a bit thriftier than buying store-bought treats.
Ingredients
These homemade dog treats are made with just 4 simple ingredients.
- 100% pure pumpkin puree
- Unsweetened applesauce
- Oat Flour
- Ground Flaxseed
Optionally you can add a bit of cinnamon if your dog is not sensitive to it and you can decorate the treats with a pumpkin seed if you’re feeling creative!
Making Oat Flour
If you have quick or rolled oats in your pantry then you don’t need to run out and buy oat flour for this recipe!
- Simply grind your oats in a food processor to break them down into a flour.
Alternatively, you can make this recipe with whole wheat (or wholemeal) flour if your dog is not sensitive to wheat. You can also use almond flour but keep in mind that it is much higher in fat so that may influence how many treats your puppy receives!
How To Shape Pretzel Dog Treats
These pumpkin puppy pretzels are really simple to make and if you can follow the photo below (and the video in the recipe card!) to help you shape them!
To make the dough:
- Stir together the pumpkin puree and applesauce
- Add the oat flour and ground flaxseed
- Stir until the dough comes together.
- Start with a spoon and then use your hands to bring the dough together. Be careful to not work the dough too much as it may get stickier the more you handle it).
To shape the pretzels:
- Scoop one tablespoon of dough.
- Using a silicone baking mat, wax paper, or parchment paper, roll the dough into a 7.5 inch long tube. (About the length of a pencil).
- Pull both ends upwards to create a “U” shape.
- Cross the ends about 1 and ½ inches down from the top.
- Then cross the protruding ends one more time.
- Finally, fold the ends down toward the bottom of the pretzels and stick them in place.
- Pierce one shelled pumpkin seed into the top of each pretzel if you want to decorate them!
Let me know in the comments below if you make these homemade dog treats and how you customize them for your pup! Make sure to try my similar 3 Ingredient Dog Treats too!
If you have some leftover pumpkin puree and you want to make a treat for yourself, try my Pumpkin Pie Energy Balls! This Pumpkin Spice Mug Cake also uses oat flour and is ready in less than 10 minutes!
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Pumpkin Puppy Pretzels – Homemade Dog Treats
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 16 (270g) 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Make these cute homemade dog treats for your pups! 4 ingredients, allergy friendly & you can make them as soft or crunchy as you want!
Ingredients
- ¾ cup pumpkin puree (unsweetened, 100% pumpkin)
- ¼ cup applesauce (unsweetened)
- 2 ½ cup oat flour (see notes for instructions and alternatives)
- ¼ cup ground flaxseed
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon (optional)
- 16 shelled pumpkin seeds (optional)
*All the ingredients for this recipe are from our pantry and freezer tips!
Instructions
*Before getting started, make sure your pumpkin puree and applesauce are both unsweetened and do not have any additives that can be harmful to your dog. If your dog is not sensitive to cinnamon feel free to add a bit in for extra flavour.
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
- Mix the pumpkin puree with the applesauce.
- Add in the oat flour and flaxseed.
- Stir until everything is combined. Use a wooden spoon to start and then switch to using your hands to fully combine the dough. Be careful to not handle the dough too much once the flour is combined because the dough may get stickier the more you work it. You should be able to make the pretzel shapes without the dough sticking to your palms much at all.
- With the dough mixed I find it easiest to shape the pretzels using a silicone mat but wax paper, parchment paper, or a lightly floured surface will work. *Watch the video below for a visual tutorial on how to shape the pretzels!
- Scoop tablespoon sized pieces of dough and roll the dough into a 7.5 inch long tube (about the length of a pencil).
- Now pull the two ends up to make a “U” shape. Then cross the ends over one another about one and a half inches down from the top. Now cross the protruding ends one more time. Holding the tips of each end, fold them down so they rest on the base of the pretzel and gently press the ends into the base to secure them.
- If you want to make them look closer to pumpkins you can stick one shelled pumpkin seed into the top of each pretzel before baking.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes on a lined baking sheet until the pretzels are hard to the touch. For softer treats, remove the treats from the oven after the baking time and allow them to cool on the counter. They will be crispy on the outside and soft on the inside but once they have been stored the whole treat will soften. For crunchy treats that stay crunchy even when stored, the trick is to turn the oven off after the baking time and keep the treats in the oven as they cool. This will extract more moisture from the treats and increase the crunch factor!
- Store treats in an airtight container in the fridge for up to two weeks or in the freezer for up to 2 months. I would not leave these on the counter for more than 2 days. The crunchy treats keep a bit better than softer treats but they both freeze well so to avoid any going bad you may want to freeze them and take a few out a time.
Notes
Approximate Cost: $2.10 for 16 puppy pretzels (roughly 13 cents per treat).
To make oat flour you can simply grind oats in your food processor.
Alternatively to oat flour, feel free to use whole wheat (or wholemeal) flour if your dog is not sensitive to wheat. You can also use almond flour but keep in mind that almond flour is higher in fat so you may want to limit the size of the treats and/or how many treats your dog receives. You may need to adjust the amounts of flour depending on what you use. If your dough is too sticky add more flour and if it is too dry add a bit more pumpkin, applesauce or water.
Feel free to use mashed sweet potato in place of the pumpkin. The treats will be naturally slightly sweeter.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Category: Thrifty How-Tos
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: American, Canadian
Ashley R
Dying from cuteness! Love these and can’t wait to make them. Thank you! ps. love the tips to make them chewy or crunchy – I’ll probably try half and half.
Kathryn Alexandre
yay so glad you love the look of them and the tips for changing the texture of the treats. Let me know which one your dog ends up preferring! (And thank you for the lovely star rating)!
Mackenzie
These are ADORABLE! I love your other doggie treats and I can’t wait to try these! Thanks again, Kathryn! Ps. you need to get a dog with all these doggie goodies 😉
Kathryn Alexandre
haha I’m so glad you are excited to try these and love my other dog treats! Having a dog would be lovely in many ways – one of which being I wouldn’t have to taste test as many dog treats myself! I hope your pup loves these treats too!
Katerina
definitely had these as a snack yesterday at the office llol! They’re SO good though! Food for humans too 🙂
Kathryn Alexandre
hahaha we have definitely dug into our frozen supply for a quick snack too! Can’t complain when a recipe does double duty right!