Doggy Dining: Blueberry Mini Pupcakes

By Mindy Johnson

I have made these for my own French Bulldog, Vivienne, several times and she LOVES them! Her eyes light up, and she’s one happy pup. We’ve given them to doggy friends and family and they’re always a big hit. This recipe calls for Blueberry Jiffy Muffin mix, but you can also use Apple Cinnamon if desired.

Ingredients:

1 Box Blueberry Jiffy Muffin mix

1 egg

Milk

1 banana

¾ cup ground dry dog food (any flavor)

Whipped Cream Cheese (plain)

Small dog treats (optional)

Also needed:

Mini cupcake tin

Mini cupcake liners

MAKES ABOUT 24 Mini Pupcakes

Instructions:

Prepare the Blueberry Jiffy Muffin Mix per the instructions on the box. Peel and mash 1 banana and add and stir into the muffin batter. Grind dry dog food in a food processor (I use a Ninja which works great). You want about ¾ a cup ground dry dog food. Add and stir ½ a cup of the ground dog food to the batter. (The rest will be used to garnish the top of the baked and cooled pupcake later.)

The batter will get a little too dry once you add the ground dog food, add a little milk to the batter until the consistency is smooth, not too dry, not too runny. (Basically, the consistency you’d want for muffin batter if the dog food wasn’t added.)

Once satisfied with the consistency, line the mini muffin tin with the mini muffin liners, and fill each mini muffin about ⅔ full with batter. Preheat oven and follow the bake time instructions on the Jiffy Muffin Mix box. I would suggest keeping an eye closely on them as ovens vary. You can always test to see if they’re thoroughly baked by taking a fork or toothpick and poking one. If the fork/toothpick has batter on it if it needs more time. If it comes out clean, they’re done.

Cool the pupcakes once they’re out of the oven. I just put them on a plate to cool, or a cooling rack would work.

Once the pupcakes are cool, frost them with whipped cream cheese, sprinkle a pinch of ground dog food on top, and garnish with a mini dog treat. I would store them in the fridge in a sealed container to keep them fresh.