These soft pumpkin dog treats were a happy mistake if I am being completely honest with you. I stumbled upon these types of treats when I attempted to make golden snitch cake pop bites for dogs. While the base itself turned out ok, in this case the golden part of the snitch, I had trouble getting the wings onto the base. Every time I tried, the treats would fall apart in my hand. I ended up scraping those and turned to making my Harry Potter dog biscuits instead.
When I decided to try my hand at making cake pops again, I learned from my previous mistakes. With these bites, I knew I didn’t want to stick a lollipop stick into the bottom or else I risked breaking the bites in the process. I also knew that I needed the cake pop bites to be of a moister consistency than my first attempt. What I ended up with truly surpassed my expectations.
Soft Pumpkin Dog Treats: Pumpkin Cake Pop Bites for Puppers Step-by-Step
Making these cake pop bites is a bit of a process, so be warned. What is worse is that making these treats require a lot of waiting, both for the cake to cool and for the icing to harden. Trust me, the icing is well worth it in the end.
What Do You Need?
This is a pretty easy recipe to prepare, even if the process makes it seem otherwise. For this recipe you will need:
For the cake:
- 1 cup of oat flour
- ½ tsp. of baking soda
- 1/8 cup of extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup of organic peanut butter
- ½ cup of applesauce
- ½ cup of pumpkin puree
- 1 egg
For the icing:
- 1 cup of Pastries4Pets carob icing mix
- 3 tablespoons of water
- ¼ cup of Pastries4Pets peanut butter icing
- 2 tablespoons of water
- ½ tsp. of Pastries4Pets orange food coloring
The Process
The first step in this recipe is to prepare the cake. First preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Next use a bowl and mix together the oat flour, baking soda, olive oil, organic peanut butter, applesauce, egg and pumpkin puree. Mix well until smooth in consistency. Set the batter aside to rest for 5 minutes.
Grease a cake pan with extra virgin olive oil. Make sure the pan is thoroughly coated to prevent sticking. Pour the batter into the cake pan. Place into the oven to bake for 25 to 30 minutes. To check the doneness of the cake, insert a knife into the cake. If it comes out clean, it is ready to come out. If it is still moist, bake for an additional 5 to 10 minutes or until baked through. Remove the cake from the oven and set aside to cool completely. I would give it a good hour to make sure it is nice and cool.
Once cooled, crumble the cake finely into a bowl. You will want to make sure the crumbs are as small as possible. This will make shaping them much easier. Use a tablespoon and add two scoops into the center of your hand. Pack the crumbs firmly in your hand until they begin to stick together. Gently shape into a ball (it doesn’t have to be completely smooth) and transfer onto a baking sheet lined with a sheet of parchment paper. Repeat with the remaining cake crumbs. Set the baking sheet into the fridge to chill for 1 hour or until firm.
Five minutes before removing the cake balls from the fridge, prepare the icing. You only need to prepare the carob icing for now. In a bowl, add in the dried carob icing mix and 3 to 4 tablespoons of water until smooth and thin in consistency. Remove the cake balls from the fridge and carefully dip into the carob icing until coated completely. Use your hands to do this. While it may be messy, it will get the job done faster and thoroughly. Repeat with the remaining cake balls and place onto a baking sheet lined with a sheet of parchment paper. If you are using Pastries4Pets icing, it is best to leave the treats out for 2 to 3 hours or until hard. Don’t place it back into the fridge or else you risk the icing cracking in the process.
Once the icing has hardened, prepare the peanut butter icing. In a small bowl, add in the dried peanut butter icing and orange food coloring. Add in 2 to 3 tablespoons of water. Stir until smooth in consistency. Transfer this icing into a piping bag with a thin tip. Gently drizzle the orange icing over the carob coated cake balls. Set the cake balls aside to rest for 1 hour or until the icing hardens.
Serve to your spoiled pup.
There you have it!
As I said, while these treats may be a bit more time consuming then you are used to, but I promise they are well worth the effort in the end. Try these cake pop bites for your dog. If you make them, drop us a picture on our Facebook page or our Instagram page. We would love to see your best friends try this treat!
