These Apple & Peanut Butter Pupcakes are a great homemade treat for your dog’s birthday!
On New Year’s Eve, my sweet little golden boy turned 5. Or 29, which officially makes him older than us… WHAT????? How did this happen? Didn’t we just pick him up and bring him home yesterday? That’s what it feels like. At least, until he decides he’s a lap dog, then you know he’s 95 lbs and not the 13 lbs he was when we got him. Shoester is the one thing that’s always guaranteed to make me smile. Matt would tell you that his loyalty and attachment to me is unhealthy and neurotic. But, I don’t mind it.
Somewhere in the last 6 months or so, little white hairs started popping up around his eyes and mouth and I realized time was passing far too quickly. And it’s made me even more grateful that I work from home now and he doesn’t spend his days alone waiting for me. He’s still not impressed when I travel, but he’s getting better with it. Last February, I talked about his seizures and thankfully, since we started him on some meds, he hasn’t had any. But those seizures sure did show me just how precious my time with him is. This little pup brings so much joy to my life and I want to make sure he knows he’s loved and celebrated too.
I always make him a special treat for his birthday and this year I decided to make some Apple & Peanut Butter Pupcakes! They’re really simple to make and are completely dog-safe. They’re made with whole wheat flour, yogurt, apples, honey, and peanut butter. Then topped with a simple unsweetened whipped cream for the frosting. He absolutely loved them! He’s always standing by when I make and shoot recipes, just waiting for something to drop. And when I turned with the whole cake stand of pupcakes and set it on the floor, he got so excited. I think he was scared to touch them, he came over and put his head against my chest like “Is this a trick? I can’t look at them, I really, REALLY want one! Can I have one, mom, can I? Pretty, pretty please!” Yes, he said all of those things. So needless to say, he was pretty happy when he realized they actually were for him!
Ingredients
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 2 large eggs
- 6 oz. plain yogurt
- 1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1/3 cup creamy unsalted and unsweetened peanut butter
- 1 cup grated apple peeled and cored
- 2 tbsp honey
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 12 mini dog biscuits
Optional:
- 1/4 cup carob chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Line a cupcake pan with liners and set aside.
- In a large bowl or stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat together the flour, baking powder, eggs, yogurt, and applesauce and mix until combined.
- Beat in peanut butter, honey, and grated apple.
- Add a 1/4 cup of batter to each cupcake liner and bake for 20-25 minutes, until toothpick comes clean when inserted into the center. Allow to cool in pan for a few minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
- Once pupcakes have cooled, beat heavy cream until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes.
- Pipe whipped cream onto the cooled pupcakes and top with a dog biscuit. Serve shortly after frosting or store in the fridge or freeze them. Dogs should only be given one a day.
Notes
Use a mini cupcake pan to make mini pupcakes for smaller dogs. Use 1 tbsp of batter per liner and make for about 10 minutes.
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We spent the morning of his birthday out playing in the freshly fallen snow!
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Comments & Reviews
Vanessa says
Thanks for sharing! Do they keep long?
Suzanne says
This looks so good! It would be fun to make them with kids!
Jasmine says
I really want to try these soon 🙂 i have 5 dogs ( 4 dalmatians and a labrador and now planning on getting another labrador) i want to celebrate my 2 dalmatians’ 6month birthday with these. I wanted to ask if using eggs instead of Applesauce is okay? We dont get applesauce where i live. Also i am a homebaker so i think using eggs will be just fine. Still wanted to confirm. Love ya ♥️
Rebecca Hubbell says
Yes, I believe 1 egg will work as a substitute for the applesauce.
linda says
Thank you for the wonderful party cupcake. My 13 year old lab, Juney, went crazy. I substituted doggie pepperoni sticks for candles since I don’t let her play with matches. They were a hit and it was tough for the adults not to sample.
Debbie Walton says
I have 2 labradoodle sisters, and they just had a birthday, 12/29/17. They are 9 now nd like you mentioned, time has seem to fly by.
Thank you for this recipe it was easy and fun to make. The girls loved them.
Rebecca Hubbell says
I’m so glad they loved them! Happy 9th birthday to your girls!
Leanne says
We just celebrated my dog’s 10 year birthday today with these adorable pupcakes! My 3 dogs (yes I have 3!), ages 10, 7, and 2 all loved these pupcakes so much! They gobbled them up and were so excited to receive such a special treat! Thank you for sharing such an easy and tasty recipe to give to our pups for a birthday treat!
Rebecca Hubbell says
So glad your pups loved them!!!
Justin says
Aside from the mini dog biscuits on the top, the rest looks like it must be tasty, even for humans. I’ll definitely get trying them out for my Rocket when his day comes around next.
Tell me you didn’t taste one to see how good they were?
Lakshmi says
We are planning to make this for our dog’s birthday! He’s turning 1 in 2 days!!
What breed is your dog? He looks so cute and similar to our Pi. Wish I could post his pic!
Rebecca Hubbell says
Hi Lakshmi! So fun, I hope your pup enjoys it! Feel free to send me a pic at fickrj5@gmail.com and I can add it to my post!
Patricia Peterson says
These pup cakes look wonderful.
Our lab will be turning 1 soon. His birthday is going to be outside where it is hot. It is going to be a dock diving birthday party.
Do you think the icing on the pup cakes will hold up on them in a cooler.
Rebecca says
Hi Patricia, unfortunately where it’s a whipped cream base I’m not sure, it’s possible, but might also be really messy to transport in a cooler. I would say if you were going to do it, I would pack the frosting in a separate container for transport and spread on the cupcakes once you were ready. You could also bring a tub or two of whipped cream cheese and use that.
Beth says
Made these for my two year old puggle. Him and the two beagles that celebrated with him absolutely loved them and they were so easy to make!
Rebecca says
I’m so glad they enjoyed them!
Sarah says
Hi! I love this recipe but i’m wondering when to add in the carob chips?
Thanks?
Rebecca says
Hi Sarah, you add them right into the cake batter!
Lisa Alexander says
Those look good enough to share!
Renée says
Happy Birthday to adorable Shoester! Thanks for a great post and yummy treat to share on Pinterest.
Marsha | Marsha's Baking Addiction says
He is such a beautiful boy! Love his photos 🙂 I bet he loved those cupcakes!