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What happens when you find out your dog is allergic to peanut butter? Well, you find another nut butter and hope she loves it just as much! After eating one of these almond butter dog treats, Bella returned begging for another one.
Therefore, I believe she just might love almond butter as much as peanut butter. Many of my dog treat recipes contain peanut butter as an ingredient. This is because both Bella and Edward love the stuff!
However, a food allergy test showing that Bella is allergic to it had me searching for a replacement. So, after doing some research on almond butter, I created these almond butter dog treats for my girl.
As a result, I am super excited to share this almond butter dog treats recipe with you. Firstly, because almond butter has some benefits for your dog. Secondly, because this almond butter dog treats recipe is so easy.
Almond Butter Dog Treats – the Almond Controversy
First of all, there are a lot of mixed opinions about the safety of almonds. And, honestly with good reason.
For instance, almonds are not digested well by some dogs and this can cause gastrointestinal problems. In addition, almonds are high in fat and some dogs have a hard time digesting fats. Furthermore, the high fat content can cause some dogs to gain weight. Lastly, because almonds are small and hard, there is a risk for an intestinal obstruction.
So, although almonds are not toxic for dogs, there are some validating reasons that almonds are not safe. On the other hand, almond butter is processed eliminating the risk of obstruction. In addition, the creamy butter is easier to digest when given in moderation.
However, some dogs can still get an upset tummy. So, I want to stress the importance of giving your dog almond butter in small amounts.
Almond Butter Dog Treats – the Benefits of Almond Butter
“If you soak almonds overnight and then process them (in a food processor for example), they can be fed to your dog. High-quality almond butter is actually a very good vehicle for administering supplements.”
Dr. Marty, Veterinarian and Author
Almond butter contains vitamin B3. This vitamin can help keep your dog’s fur healthy and shiny. Furthermore, vitamin B3 helps support the liver and the eyes.
In addition, almond butter is high in vitamin E. This removes harmful free radicals from cells and increases the function of your dog’s immune system.
Moreover, almond butter is a great source for calcium which keeps your dog’s bones and joints healthy and strong. Likewise, the phosphorus and magnesium in almond butter help with bone health.
The Importance of Choosing the Right Almond Butter
Do NOT feed your dog any NUT butter containing the artificial sweetener, xylitol. This substance is extremely toxic to dogs. You can read more here under the subtitle, Why Read the Peanut Butter Jar label?
Most importantly, choose all natural, unsweetened, and unsalted varieties of almond butter. When you read the label, make sure the ingredients list only has almonds. Any additives such as salt and sugar will lower the nutritive value.
Furthermore, organic almond butter is a safe choice. Plus, you can rest assured that no pesticides have been used.
Let’s Bake Almond Butter Dog Treats
I stressed earlier the importance of feeding your dog almond butter in moderation. Well, baking almond butter into homemade dog treats means they can enjoy it in smaller quantities more often.
This recipe yields 72 small treats, so the almond butter is less than an ⅛ teaspoon per treat.
Ingredients Needed:
- banana
- apple
- cinnamon
- almond butter
- oat flour
Step by Step Baking
Firstly, preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Secondly, mash a small banana with a fork or a potato masher or both on a cutting board. Add this to a small bowl.
Thirdly, peel and cut a small apple into slices or pieces. Then, mash the pieces with a fork or a potato masher or both on a cutting board. Add this to the bowl with the banana.
Before you measure out the almond butter, make sure to stir it thoroughly in it’s jar. After that, measure and add the almond butter to the bowl with the mashed banana and apple.
Then, mix in the Ceylon cinnamon and 1½ cups of the oat flour with the wet ingredients. Mix together until all of the ingredients are moistened.
Next, add the last ½ cup of flour. Use your hands to knead thoroughly to form a dough ball.
Place the dough ball onto a floured sheet of wax paper. Then, use a rolling pin to roll out the dough ball to about an ⅛ of an inch thick.
After that, use any shape cookie cutter to cut the dough into cookies. I used small ones, because my fur babies are little. In addition, I wanted the almond butter ingredient to be served in a small portion.
Place the shapes on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper, a half inch apart.
Lastly, bake for 12 minutes. All ovens cook differently, so start checking them at about eight minutes. Also, if you want softer cookies, don’t bake as long. Or, if you want crunchier cookies, bake a little longer.
Thoroughly let the cookies cool before sharing with your dog.
Then, store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for a couple of weeks. You can also store in the refrigerator for a couple of weeks longer.
The best part of making these almond butter dog treats is sharing them with your fur baby.
To Sum Up
I hope your dog likes these almond butter dog treats as much as mine do. Let me know in the comments below.
Do you have a recipe to share or way to alter this one? Please let us know in the comments below.
If your dog likes Almond Butter Dog Cookies, then check out these other recipes:
If you want to save this recipe to your Pinterest account, you can use one of the following images.
Almond Butter Dog Cookies
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup mashed banana (or 1 small banana)
- ½ cup mashed apple (or 1 small apple)
- ¼ cup almond butter (organic or natural)
- ½ tsp cinnamon (Ceylon)
- 2 cups oat flour (organic)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Mash a small banana with a fork or a potato masher, or both, on a cutting board. Add this to a small bowl.
- Peel and cut a small apple into slices or pieces. Then, mash the pieces with a fork or a potato masher, or both, on a cutting board. Add this to the bowl with the banana.
- Stir the almond butter in its jar before spooning into a measuring cup. Measure and add to the bowl with the mashed banana and apple.
- Mix the three ingredients together.
- Add the Ceylon cinnamon and the first 1½ cups of oat flour, stirring until moistened.
- Add the last ½ cup of oat flour, kneading to form a dough ball.
- Place the ball onto a floured sheet of wax paper.
- Roll the dough out to about an ⅛ of an inch thick.
- Use any shape cookie cutter to cut the cookies.
- Place the shapes on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper.
- Bake for 12 minutes. (All ovens are different, so start checking them at about 8 minutes. Also, if you want softer, don’t cook as long, or if you want crunchier, cook a little longer.
- Let them thoroughly cool before sharing with your fur baby.
