I cannot tell you how many times during the course of this “quarantine” that I have joked with my husband that the dogs must have planned it. All of the humans stuck at home—I cannot think of something my dog dreams of more. Even though with my pre-COVID work schedule, our dog, Luke, was typically only left at home alone for a handful of hours a day. My husband is generally home by 6 or 7, and I don’t leave for work until later in the afternoon, so goes the life of a child and adolescent therapist. If we had to name who has enjoyed quarantine life the most in our home it would have to be Luke. He has no idea what is going on in the world, but mom and dad are home so that makes all well in his world. I feel like I have tried to tackle all kinds of things in the kitchen to make my time at home productive, from ice cream to making biscuits using different types of flours to cocktails to pork tenderloins, and roasting whole chickens. Though trying to the lose the novice feeling for many recipes that I have not tried before, I realized that I had left out making something special for my favorite furry friend. Sure he has gotten samples of many of things that are safe for him to eat, but nothing purely made for him. While we do not have human children, we consider Luke to be our firstborn. He loves anything on our plates, but especially loves the following: chicken and rice, Greek yogurt, eggs, sweet potatoes, peanut butter, frozen blueberries, dried pasta, and canned pumpkin. Luke is a fan of oats so I used them here instead of flour to give the treat more flavor. I also picked out a few things on his favorites list and mixed them together—he already follows me around to the point where I call him “Shadow'“ but now he will not stop harassing me for another round at the treat jar. I can’t say I blame him; mama has been known to put a few cookies away herself. Like mother, like son.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of canned pumpkin

• 1/2 cup of peanut butter (tip: check your PB’s ingredients for the presence of xylitol, which is a sweetener—safe for humans but can be toxic for dogs!)

• 2 1/2 cups of oat flour (you can make this by simply grinding or milling oats in your blender until they are powder)

  • Or you can sub in AP or whole wheat flour, just remember that you will need less of these flours about 2 cups

• 2 eggs

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a large mixing bowl combine pumpkin, peanut butter, and eggs. Beat until fluffy.

3. Add in flour until it forms into a dough ball.

4. Turn out onto parchment paper, that has been dusted with your choice of flour (sticky alert!)

5. Knead until dough is smooth and supple and roll out with a floured rolling pin (or pressed out with your hand!).

6. Use a floured cookie cutter and cut out your treats!

7. Place on parchment or silpat-lined pan and bake for 25-30 minutes.

8. Let cool and then reward your favorite quarantine and walking buddy!

A photo diary of Luke’s COVID adventures: many treats and tastings, walks, cuddles, trips to the fountain to cool off, naps on the couch, car rides, and watching Mom in the kitchen.