BS Cooks: The Dog Days of Summer. or Has my baking gone to the dogs?

Let's face it, food can make you fat. So, what's a girl to do? I, along with being a preschool teacher and novice baker, happen to own a very small pet sitting business called The Critter Nanny. I care for anything with paws, feathers or scales, heck, I have even cared for a few hooves in my time. My feeling is that pets are people too so why shouldn't I bake for them.

So yesterday I, along with my friend Carrie, her dog Mickey and Caesar the doberman, set out to make some canine confections. Our first culinary wonder is Peanut Butter Puppy Poppers.

Peanut Butter Puppy Poppers

From: Bullwrinkle.com

2 cups whole-wheat flour
1 tbsp. baking powder
1 cup peanut butter (chunky or smooth)

1 cup milk

Preheat oven to 375'F. In a bowl, combine flour and baking powder. In another bowl, mix peanut butter and milk, then add to dry ingredients and mix well. Place dough on a lightly floured surface and knead. Roll dough to 1/4 inch thickness and use a cookie cutter to cut out shapes. Bake for 20 minutes on a greased baking sheet until lightly brown. Cool on a rack, then store in an airtight container. --- This is the original recipe, but I have found the cookies burn easily.

These treats were super easy to make and fun to cut out. I think kids would love this!!

The cooking time did not change for the small cookies to the big cookies. We chose to let them cool on the pan to help crisp them up a bit.

Mickey loved them!

Now for the PupCakes!

Also from: bullwrinkle.com

1 large apple
1 1/2 cups wheat flour
1/4 cup oatmeal
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons honey 2 eggs
1 cup grated cheddar cheese

For the Frosting
8 oz Neufchatel Cheese (lowfat cream cheese)
2 tablespoons plain yogurt
2 tablespoons honey
2-3 tablespoons flour

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 ° F (200 ° C). Grease muffin tins.

Core, slice and mince the apple (use a food processor if you have one). Set aside. In a large bowl, mix together flour, oatmeal, baking powder, and baking soda. In a medium bowl, blend together the yogurt, water, oil, honey, and eggs, then stir in the apple and cheese. Add to the flour mixture and stir until mixed.

Spoon into the muffin tins, filling each cup about three-quarters full. Bake for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Let rest in the muffin tins for a few minutes, then remove and set aside to cool.

For the frosting, combine the Neufchatel cheese (at room temperature), honey, and yogurt until smooth. Add enough flour to thicken the frosting to a good spreading consistency. Frost the pupcakes and you're ready for a doggone good party!

Makes 16-18 pupcakes. If you prefer a single-layer cake, spoon the batter into a sheet pan and bake for an extra 15-20 minutes (or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean). Let the cake cool, then frost and decorate.

We decided to make mini pupcakes because, well let's face it, a cupcake is big, mini just seemed better for the dogs! (makes 58 mini pupcakes) This was super fun! I know for sure the kids would love this!

And the dogs