Because your fluffy little nuggets need spoiled around the holidays, too.

I’ve wanted to make these for years.

Because I mean, c’mon, they’re peanut butter cups.

For dogs.

Need I say  more?

However, when you always seem to live in the middle of nowhere, it becomes increasingly difficult to find specialty ingredients, and while I know that I can always purchase the needed items on Amazon or something, it begins to get a little frustrating after awhile.  So, my idea of creating these tiny little treats was put on the backburner, for what seemed like forever.

Until I found a recipe for carob bark.  A simple mixture of carob powder and melted coconut oil which led to a slightly runnier melted chocolate consistency when heated.  Make sure you use carob, though – and not chocolate – which is a sweet substitute that has a similar flavor to chocolate, but is completely safe for your pooch because it contains zero amounts of caffeine or theobromine.

The greatest thing about these little treats?  You can share them with your fluffy one!  Carob is an excellent source of vitamins and minerals, such as potassium, zinc, and magnesium, and it is high in fiber and protein!  It also helps to lower your cholesterol, ease stomach issues, and reduce your risk of heart disease.  Basically it’s healthy and can satisfy your sweet tooth.

So, really what’s not to love about that?

Puppy Dog Peanut Butter Cups

• 1 c coconut oil
• 3/4 c carob powder
• all-natural peanut butter*

In a small saucepan, add about an inch of water, and set over a medium heat.  Place a glass bowl over top to create a double boiler, and add the coconut oil.  Once the coconut oil has melted completely, add the carob powder 1/4 c at a time, whisking after each addition until smooth and creamy.

Allow the carob mixture to cool slightly, for about 5 minutes.  Pour about a teaspoon of chocolate into the bottom of a mini cupcake liner.  Repeat until you either use up half of the carob mixture, or determine you have enough peanut butter cups.**  Place the liners in the freezer until the carob is solid.

Next, add about a 1 tsp of peanut butter into each liner and place them back in the freezer until the peanut butter is solid enough to pour the remaining carob.  Once the remaining carob mixture has been placed on top, freeze once more until solid.

~ I decorated the cups with a small amount of melted white chocolate chips for photo purposes.  Since white chocolate still contains small traces of theobromine, it is not recommended to give to your dog.  However, if you can find yogurt chips, you can use those without any adverse reaction.

*I use Crazy Richard’s brand because it is 100% peanuts without any added sugar.  I could have easily made peanut butter (which you can, too), but I was lazy, and had some peanut butter leftover from another recipe.

**I did not use all of the carob mixture for peanut butter cups, and actually added some sliced almonds and dried cranberries to the remainder, before filling a mini cupcake liner and chilling until solid.  It was absolutely delicious.

 

 

 

 

So, for those who follow a multitude of diets, carob is Paleo, Whole 30, and Keto friendly.  Just swap out the peanut butter for some natural, no sugar added almond butter, and enjoy yourself a little treat for the holidays.