We all know dogs can’t eat chocolate. But you can make your own “chocolate” treats by substituting carob, a doggy safe chocolate alternative.
We found two carob recipes online, a Mock Chocolate Carob-Walnut Bark and a Peanut Butter & “Chocolate” Truffle, that make perfect Doggy Valentine Treats.
Mock Chocolate Carob-Walnut Bark
From All Things Dog Blog
Ingredients
4 cups carob chips
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (dry roasted peanuts are good too)
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
Preparation
First I prepared an edged cookie sheet by lining it with recycled tin foil. Lightly spray with cooking spray. Melt carob chips in a glass bowl in the microwave for about 30 seconds, then repeat. Combine peanut butter and microwave for another 15 seconds. Add the nuts and cinnamon.
So after the first 30 seconds in the microwave, the carob chips did not look melted at all. After adding the peanut butter, microwaving it for another 15 seconds, and giving the mixture several good stirs, it turned into a nice consistency.
Next, I mixed in the nuts and cinnamon and poured the contents onto the prepared cookie sheet. I took it out of the refrigerator after 30 minutes and broke it up into pieces. Voila! Dog Bark.
Before giving it to my dog, Brecken, I tried it first. It was actually good! I had tried a carob chip before starting the recipe, and it was super bitter, so I was expecting the bark to taste the same. But with the peanut butter and cinnamon, it tasted like dark chocolate.
This super easy recipe and has inspired me to make my own chocolate bark for the holidays.
Peanut Butter & “Chocolate” Truffles
From The Daily Puppy
Ingredients
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/3 cup whole wheat flour
¼ cup whey protein powder or 3 TBL dry powdered milk
¼ teaspoon of vanilla extract
2 cups carob chips
½ teaspoon vegetable shortening
Preparation
For the filing, I combined 1/2 cup of peanut butter and 1/3 cup of whole wheat flour in a medium bowl. Then I added 3 tablespoons of dry powdered milk and ¼ teaspoon of vanilla extract.
I found my dough to be gooey. I attributed the texture to the fact that I used an all-natural peanut butter from Wholefoods, which is oilier than most commercial brands.
For the “chocolate” covering, I microwaved the carob for 30 minutes, stirred and repeated. The consistency of the carob was smooth, but I added the shortening anyways.
I rolled the dough into 3/4″ balls and place them on a greased cookie sheet.
Because my peanut butter balls were too mushy to be dipped in the melted carob (as intended), I poured the carob on top of them. I realized afterwards that I could have added more flour to make my dough thicker, but my method seemed to work just fine. Plus I knew Brecken wouldn’t care!
After letting the truffles set in the refrigerator for 30 minutes, I took them out. Brecken was more interested in the peanut butter filing than the carob, but overall he really loved his Doggy Valentine Treats!
How are you celebrating Valentine’s Day with your dog?