Cooking for Dogs Peanut Butter Banana Bread

I’ve been achin’ to do some bakin’, how about you guys?

Considering how much time I spend in the kitchen, I don’t do a whole of baking. For humans, that is. My four-legged family can count on a new Tasty Tuesday recipe, every week, like clockwork. My human family? I can’t actually remember the last time I served them homemade baked goods, so this weekend by special request, I made my Peanut Butter & Banana bread.
Don’t tell my family that the recipe is technically one of my dog treat recipes, OK?

I’m not joking! I came up with this recipe a few years back as a special soft dog treat. As they cooled on the counter they smelled really yummy and I decided to try just one. I was hooked. This peanut butter & banana bread is lightly sweet and surprisingly tender, considering there isn’t any sugar or butter in the recipe. My mom ate half a plate before I told her the bread was supposed to be dog treats.

This might be why she looks at me pointedly and asks “Is this dog food” before she eats anything I serve now.

Personally, I love how this bread has only a hint of sweetness to it, but people with sweet tooth will appreciate this treat more if they put some cinnamon-sugar butter or a bit of chocolate spread on it. (Just remember that dogs should never have chocolate!)

PB & Banana Bread for Pups and People
1 ¼ c. flour (or 1 ¼ c. Gluten Free All Purpose Baking Mix + ½ tsp. Xanthan gum)
1 ½ tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 cup over ripe mashed banana
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
3 tablespoons honey
¼ c. natural peanut butter, room temperature
2/3 c. natural peanut butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350F.
In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking soda & cinnamon. In a separate bowl, whip the egg until fluffy and mix in the banana, honey, vanilla and peanut butter. Mix until smooth.

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and slowly stir in the wet mixture. Batter should be the consistency of thick drop cookies; too sticky to touch but too thick to pour.

This bread bakes up well in either mini loaf pans or mini muffin tins. I love to use silicone bake ware, but if you prefer metal, then lightly grease the pans before you fill them with batter. Fill pans ¾ full and place in the oven and bake for 5 minutes. Turn the oven down to 325F and bake for an additional 15 to 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Share with your favorite pup.

Tip: Do you prefer longer lasting crunchy treats for your dog? Cut the bread into ¼ thick pieces and lay it out on a cookie sheet. Place in the oven at 200F for 3 – 4 hours until they are dry & crunchy.

Meet our Cooking for Dogs Contributor Jodi and her dogs Kolchak and Felix

Jodi is a canine nutrition and small animal naturopathy student hailing from beautiful Vancouver, BC. (That’s in Canada, eh?) She loves to experiment in the kitchen, creating tasty (and healthy) treats for her two dogs, Felix & Kolchak and the rest of her family. Jodi’s blog, Kol’s Notes follows the antics of the irrepressible Kolchak as he celebrates good food, good friends and the good life.