The first Friday in June is National Doughnut Day in the United States. While it was first created to help raise the spirits of soldiers coming back from World War I, today it’s a day to celebrate one of the world’s best loved confectioneries.
While we can stop by just about any local bakery and pickup a free doughnut today, what about our four legged friends? How can we help them celebrate this wonderful sugary day? By making equine and canine friendly treats of course! We have two recipes to share with you today, adapted from recipes by Zea over at Case of Horse Addiction and Equine Kenz on YouTube.
Peanut Butter & Apple Doughnut Treats |
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DIY Horse Treats Recipe #1
adapted from Case of Horse Addiction
These peanut butter and apple horse treats are as versatile as they are yummy. This recipe can be used to make not only doughnuts, but frosted pastries, croissants, and macarons!
Ingredients for Dough:
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 dashes cinnamon
- 3/4 cup peanut butter
- 1 medium sized apple (any variety, we used a Cortland apple)
- 3/4 cup water
- sprinkles (optional)
Ingredients for Icing:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- water
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 325º F.
2. Mix flour and cinnamon in a large bowl.
3. Using a box grater, grate the apple, discarding the core. Place apple bits in a paper towel, and squeeze the juices out.
4. Add peanut butter and apple bits to flour mixture, and combine. Slowly add water, and continue to mix until the dough forms.
5. Pinch off a portion roughly the size of a ping-pong ball. Roll the dough between your hands until it forms a “snake.” Pinch the ends together to form the shape of the doughnut.
6. Place the doughnuts on a greased baking sheet, and place in the oven. Bake for 20-30 minutes, or until golden brown.
7. Remove from oven, and place on racks to cool.
Make the Icing:
1. While the doughnuts cool, measure powdered sugar into a bowl.
2. Slowly mix water into the powdered sugar until you have a smooth consistency. It should be a little bit runny, but not too watery.
Decorate:
1. Once the doughnuts have cooled completely, place the cooling rack on a baking sheet.
2. Take one of the doughnuts, and place it upside down in your bowl of icing. Swirl it around, and then carefully pick it up, allowing the excess icing to drip off.
3. Flip it right side up, and place on cooling rack (the icing will drip down the sides into the baking sheet, making for easy cleanup later!)
4. Optional: While the icing is still wet, take multi-colored sprinkles, and sprinkle them over the doughnut.
Molasses Doughnut Treats |
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adapted from Equine Kenz on YouTube
These are the equine version of gingerbread cookies. They’re so yummy, you might want to snack on them yourself!
Ingredients for Dough:
- 3 1/2 cup flour
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 cup molasses
- sprinkles (optional)
Ingredients for Icing:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- water
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 325º F
2. Mix flour and cinnamon in a large bowl
3. Pour in molasses and start mixing together. If the dough feels too loose sticky, slowly add more flour until you have reached the desired consistency
4. Sprinkle some flour onto a flat surface (a large cutting board is ideal) and place your ball of dough on it. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough out to a 1/4″ thickness.
5. Using a round cookie cutter, cut out your doughnuts. Using a smaller cookie cutter, cut out the doughnut hole. (Our in-house baker didn’t have circular cookie cutters, so she used a drinking glass for the big circle, and a smaller glass for the smaller circle.)
6. Place doughnuts on greased cookie sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes, or until firm and cooked through.
7. Remove doughnuts from the oven and cool on a cooling rack.
Make the Icing:
1. While the doughnuts cool, measure powdered sugar into a bowl.
2. Slowly mix water into the powdered sugar until you have a smooth consistency. It should be a little bit runny, but not too watery.
Decorate:
1. Once the doughnuts have cooled completely, place the cooling rack on a baking sheet.
2. Take one of the doughnuts, and place it upside down in your bowl of icing. Swirl it around, and then carefully pick it up, allowing the excess icing to drip off.
3. Flip it right side up, and place on cooling rack (the icing will drip down the sides into the baking sheet, making for easy cleanup later!)
4. Optional: While the icing is still wet, take multi-colored sprinkles, and sprinkle them over the doughnut.
We hope your horses and dogs love these treats as much as ours do. If you tried these recipes, or if you have any other treat recipes you’d like to share, please do! We love learning about different ways to spoil our favorite animals.
Don’t have time for DIY? Check out our selection of horse, and dog (and cat!) treats. We have a wide selection to choose from, so there’s sure to be something they will love!
Can you use peanut butter instead of molasses
That’s not something we’ve tried, but feel free to give it a shot and let us know how it turns out! Depending on the type of peanut butter that you use, it might affect the texture. You can always add more flour if the dough is too wet, or more applesauce/banana if it’s too dry. Happy holidays!
How long do they stay good for? Example…should we only give them to the horses within a week or is there a longer expiration date? Thank you.
Great question! The treats can be stored in an airtight container for up to one week; consider keeping them in the freezer if you would like to feed them more slowly (just make sure they are thawed prior to consumption).
How many donuts does a single recipe make? Thanks!
This recipe makes roughly a dozen! You can always make the doughnuts slightly smaller or larger if you’d like.
Should I put it in the fridge?
While these treats are safe to leave at room temperature, storing them in the refrigerator can certainly extend their shelf life!