Does your pooch deserve a treat? Maybe you should give him a tasty dog-safe cake pop!
Spoiling your dog with tasty treats can be as much fun for you as it is for Fido, and cake pops provide a great way to do so. Dog-safe cake pops aren’t as complicated as they may seem and make an excellent tasty treat for your canine companion.
We’ll share a few of our favorite dog cake pop recipes below and provide some additional tips for serving up some sweets for Spot!
Our 5 Favorite Dog Cake Pop Recipes
Here are some of our favorite pooch pop recipes you can craft for your canine companion. These festive treats are perfect for Buddy’s birthday or for showing your four-footer some extra love.
1. Peanut Butter Banana Cake Balls
About: These festive peanut butter banana cake balls from Doggy Dessert Chef are easy to whip up with ingredients you probably have on hand. Note that the original recipe coats the cake balls using yogurt chips, but just be sure they’re made from dog-safe yogurt.
Directions: To make these cake balls, mix all the dry ingredients and wet ingredients in separate bowls until each mixture is properly combined. The dry mixture is then folded into the wet mixture, creating the cake batter. This batter is then baked for about 25 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Once cooled, the cake is crumbled up, mixed with peanut butter, and frozen into balls on wax paper. For some final flair, the cake balls can be dipped in yogurt and garnished with chopped peanuts before serving to Spot.
Ingredients:
- Whole wheat flour
- Baking soda
- Eggs
- Milk
- Bananas
- Dog-safe peanut butter
- Unsalted butter
- Dog-safe yogurt
- Shelled, unsalted peanuts (optional)
2. Carob Cake Balls
About: It isn’t safe for dogs to have chocolate, but these carob cake balls from Petsmont are the next best thing. These simple and slightly sweet cake balls make excellent daily treats for your deserving doggo.
Directions: Start by mixing the dry ingredients (flour, carob powder, and baking soda) in a bowl. In a separate bowl, combine the butter, eggs, and almond milk. Once combined, mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients to create the batter. Pour batter into a cake pan and bake for 20 minutes at 375 degree Fahrenheit.
Once the cake has cooled, mix in the heated peanut butter, while breaking the cake into crumbles with your hands. Add in the honey, and form small balls on a lined cookie sheet. Serve immediately or store in the fridge for up to a week.
Ingredients:
- Coconut flour
- Raw carob powder
- Baking soda
- Unsalted butter
- Eggs
- Unsweetened almond milk
- Coconut oil
- Honey
- Peanut butter
3. Pumpkin Pooch Bites
About: Pumpkin is a fiber-rich ingredient that can benefit many pups, so your dog is bound to get plenty out of these Pumpkin Pooch Bites from Pet Foodio. These apple and pumpkin treats are super festive for fall, and they can be decorated with dog-safe icing.
Directions: To craft the batter of this doggie delight, mix the oat flour, baking soda, olive oil, organic peanut butter, applesauce, egg, and pumpkin puree together until smooth. Pour the batter into a cake pan and bake for 25 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Once cooled, crumble the cake finely into a bowl. Pack the mixture into small balls on a lined sheet pan. If you’re having issues with the consistency, you can add a bit more peanut butter. After the bites have cooled, they can be served immediately or dipped in dog-safe icing for pooch presentation points.
Ingredients:
- Oat flour
- Baking soda
- Olive oil
- Peanut butter
- Unsweetened applesauce
- Pumpkin puree
- Eggs
- Dog-safe icing (optional)
4. Oatmeal and Sardine Cake Pops
About: While sardine and oatmeal isn’t necessarily a flavor we’d savor, your dog will go bananas for these oat and fish cake pops from Tastemade. This simple ingredient list agrees well with most furry friends and can be stored in a freezer bag for up to three months.
Directions: Mix together the eggs, peanut butter, quick oats, and sardines in a bowl until well combined. Roll dough into balls and bake in a cake pop pan for 20 minutes at 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Once cooled, these pops can be served on their own or with an inserted thin carrot for a dog-safe “stick”.
Ingredients:
- Eggs
- Peanut butter
- Quick oats
- Unsalted canned sardines
- Thin carrot sticks (optional)
5. Apple Cake Pops
About: If your dog is the apple of your eye, then he certainly deserves a taste of these deluxe apple cake pops from Scarf’d.
However, note that there are two ingredient tweaks we’d recommend owners make. For starters, the original recipe calls for bacon grease topping, which we don’t recommend — that’s a bit too rich for Rover, if you ask us (just use dog-safe peanut butter instead). Secondly, skip the vanilla extract as it isn’t safe for dogs.
Directions: Mix together applesauce, water, egg, and honey. In a separate bowl, combine the flower, apple chips, and baking powder. Combine dry and wet mixtures creating a consistent cake batter. The batter can be poured into a lined cake pan and baked for approximately 30 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Once cooled, the cake can be crumbled and formed into balls. For some extra form, allow the balls to chill in the freezer for about 20 minutes before serving. You also have the option to coat these cake pops in peanut butter and sprinkles, but your dog will find these tasty treats delicious regardless.
Ingredients:
- Unsweetened apple sauce
- Water
- Eggs
- Honey
- Whole wheat flour
- Unsweetened apple chips
- Baking powder
- Peanut butter
- Dog-safe sprinkles (optional)
You can essentially turn any dog cake or dog cupcake recipe into a cake pop by following a different series of steps:
- Bake the cake as you would normally, but then crumble the cake with your hands and mix in the “icing” with the crumbles to create a cake pop base.
- Add as much dog-safe icing to the mixture as needed so that you can form small balls out of the cake mixture.
- Formed cake balls can be frozen for about 20 minutes to create some extra shape, then dipped in dog-safe toppings like peanut butter or unsweetened Greek yogurt for a special touch.
“Dog” Cake Pops for Humans! (These are NOT for Dogs!!!)
Are you a tiny bit jealous of your furry friend’s treats? Say no more — these yummy cake pops from Moms & Munchkins are NOT safe for dogs, but they do make a tasty treat for humans! With an adorable doggie design, these make amazing favors for humans at your next pooch parent get together.
Directions: To start, make cake according to the manufacturer’s instructions in a cake pop pan — this recipe prioritizes presentation above all else, so this is probably a better option than the “making a whole cake and crumble” method.
Place the baked and cooled cake balls on to the pop sticks. Add a layer of melted white chocolate to the back of candy corn as “glue” and place on either side of the cake pop to resemble ears. Once dried, dip the cake pop in melted white chocolate.
Melt black candy melts and use a toothpick to create facial details with the melted chocolate. You can add mini brown M&M as a “nose” using leftover melted chocolate as glue. Let dry, add a lifesaver gummy “collar” to the top of the stick and serve!
Ingredients:
- Cake mix
- Cake pop sticks
- White chocolate candy melts
- Chocolate candy melts
- Black candy melts
- Candy corn
- Mini M&Ms
- Lifesaver gummies
Making Dog Cake Pops: Tips, Tricks, & Safety Issues
Are you ready to whip up some of these tasty treats for your canine companion? Here are a couple of essential tips to keep in mind in order to keep Spot safe.
- Do not use chocolate of any kind. Even in small quantities, chocolate is not safe for dogs. It contains theobromine and methylxanthine which can cause GI upset, seizures, and even death. Instead, you can use dog-safe carob, which has a similar consistency and appearance as chocolate.
- Use dog-safe peanut butter and yogurt in recipes. Not all peanut butter and yogurt is created equal, especially when it comes to crafting dog-safe treats. Use dog-safe peanut butter that’s unsalted, unsweetened, and preferably, made out of just peanuts. For pooch-approved yogurt, it’s best to find an unsweetened, unflavored Greek variety.
- Avoid ingredients that aren’t dog-safe. You’ll need to stay away from the usual doggie no-nos including the artificial sweetener xylitol, grapes, macadamia nuts, alcohol and garlic. It’s also a good idea to avoid added sugar and salt wherever possible.
- Don’t feed Fido too many! Just like any other treat, cake pops should be fed sparingly to your furry friend and accounted for in their daily calorie intake. Save these special treats for when Fido’s been an extra good boy.
- Skip the stick. You’ll find that most of these recipes skip the step of adding the emblematic cake pop stick to the cake balls. This is probably the best approach for your furry friend, as any stick could pose a choking hazard for your canine companion. You can keep these cake pops on a stick for display purposes, but be sure to remove it before handing it off to your hound.
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Dog cake pops can make any exciting treat for any dog, and their compact size makes them convenient for serving big best buddies and pint-sized pooches alike. Just make sure that you’re utilizing dog-safe ingredients to keep Fido’s tail wagging.
Does your dog like cake pops? Which recipe was your favorite? We’d love to hear all about it in the comments below!
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