Natural Dog Treat Recipe: Peanut Butter Protein Bites

While recently dreaming up new recipe ideas for homemade dog treats (that's a thing, right?), it dawned on me that I could use our mini muffin mold to make little bite sized "tarts" with a peanut butter filling.

Perhaps the question is, why was I dreaming up new treat recipes? In nutshell — Bully Flakes.

We'd recently cracked open a bag of these bully flakes from our friends at Best Bully Sticks. We're big fans of their Bully Sticks (you might remember when Basil first tried them in this post), so upon opening up the bag of flakes, weren't quite sure what to do with them outside of sprinkling them overtop his dry food.

The flakes are made from the same grass-fed, free-range beef as the sticks, are 100% digestible, high in protein and are typically used as a tasty food topper to help older or choosy dogs eat. As soon as we opened the bag, Basil came trotting into the kitchen to investigate what he was smelling.

The bully flakes look like sprinkles, which set off the lightbulb — they'd make a perfect topping for these little peanut butter tarts. The mini tarts turned out really well, so we're excited to share the recipe here for all the other dog lovers out there!

The recipe calls for minimal and all-natural ingredients and while these treats turn out looking pretty fancy, they are so simple to put together.

Please Note: as with all treats, it's best to let your pups enjoy while under your supervision. Different dogs react differently to ingredients, so keep a running list of your pup's allergies, avoiding those ingredients when making homemade treats.

Ingredients (makes 15 mini tarts):

Crust

• 3/4 cup crunchy peanut butter
• 1/3 cup whole grain oats
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup water

Filling

• 1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
• Bully flakes, for sprinkling

Combine crust ingredients in a mixing bowl, kneading with hands until forming a dough ball. Add additional water or flour as needed if dough feels overly sticky or dry. I just love the way you can see the oats and chunks of peanuts peeking through the dough.

Pinch and roll hunks from the dough ball to form smaller dough balls, eyeballing for fit in the mini muffin tin. Form tart crusts by pressing dough balls with your thumb, shaping to form around sides.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes until tart crusts are dry and crispy.

Melt peanut butter in a microwave-safe dish for 20 seconds to make for easier pouring. Gently fill each tart shell with a spoonful of peanut butter — Basil say's don't be bashful! 

While the peanut butter is still a more liquid consistency, sprinkle bully flakes overtop each tart. Doing so will help the flakes stick to the finished tarts:

Chill in freezer for at least one hour to solidify the peanut butter and you're ready for the first taste test! I'm sure you'll have a little tail wagger eagerly standing by to get the first try :)

Store treats in a freezer-safe zipper bag for up to 2 weeks (if they last that long). The cool temps will help the peanut butter stay in solid form, which actually helps our vacuum, I mean quick-eater, savor them a bit longer.

Discover More:

Sweet Potato & Oats Natural Dog Treats | All Dog Treat Recipes

Our friends at Best Bully Sticks generously provided us with the bully flakes used in today's dog treat recipe. The recipe, and thoughts on the flakes are (as always) our own — thank you so much for supporting the partners that make 17 Apart possible. Keep a lookout for a giveaway from Best Bully Sticks coming up soon!