Puppy Cake Carob Chip Cookies + Review

Earlier this month I celebrated the Ninja Face's 5th Birthday! Not only did we have a celebration for him at home but we also had a paw-tay at the dog park. Instead of making everything from scratch, I decided to use Puppy Cake mixes which I found on Amazon. These products had amazing reviews, so I thought why not try them? Well, I was so happy with how easy and wonderful everything turned out that I reached out to the owner of Puppy Cakes, Kelly Costello. I shared my posts with her and expressed how much I enjoyed her Puppy Cake - cake mixes.

When I asked if she had other products I could try, she was so sweet and sent me a sample of her Carob Chip Cookie Mix and Vanilla Puppy Scoops Ice Cream to try. Just like the cake mixes, this cookie mix was simple to make. Have you ever used the Betty Crocker cookie mix pouches? Its exactly the same but for dogs! LOVE! The dough was a bit sticky. Though I do not think it would have affected how they turned out. But I did add 1/4 c. of flour to the mix so it was easier to work with. 

Normally I just have the taste tester that is Ninja. But this week we are dog sitting for a friend and their dog just happens to be Ninja's bestie from the dog park, Julian. Ninja LOVES Julian. I mean LOVES. He has been with us for two days and they play non-stop until they eventually pass out from sheer exhaustion and then start right back up again after a quick nap. So we now have 2 taste testers! They were both very excited to try the cookies. To be honest they are excited to try anything! The mix makes about 15 cookies. My batch made exactly 17 cookies.

I had some eager taste testers! After getting their taste on, they became some happy puppies who tried to sneak extra cookies from the dining table! Thankfully they had enough manners to at least wait until I had taken pictures for my blog. Such gentlemen. Isn't it funny how pups know when goodies are for them. I mean, I bake all the time and Ninja doesn't really notice. But he just knew, this time ... these cookies were for him!

Bottom line: The Puppy Cake Carob Chip Cookie Mix is a must buy and must try because your pup will love it and it's nice to spoil them plus it's super easy to make! Don't take my word -- take Ninja and Julian's eager and awaiting faces for another cookie! HA!

Puppy Cake Carob Chip Cookies

From Puppy Cake

INGREDIENTS

Preheat Oven to 350F Degrees

1 Puppy Carob Chip Cookie Mix
1 egg
1/3 c. water
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
1/4 c. flour (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

In a small bowl whisk together egg, water and vegetable oil. Combine wet ingredients with cookie mix in a medium bowl. Continue mixing until dough forms. If sticky add in flour.

Line baking sheet with baking mat, aluminum foil, parchment or wax paper. Scoop out 1 inch cookie dough balls onto sheet (roll between the palm of your hands for a nice round shape). Space the cookies 2 inches apart. Flatten the cookies using the palm of your hand to uniform thickness. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes before transferring to cooling rack. Store in an airtight container.


Here is a list of Puppy Cake products you may also want to check out:

• Wheat-Free Peanut Butter Cake Mix
• Wheat- Free Red Velvet Cake Mix
•  Banana Cake Mix
• Carob Cake Mix
• Wheat-Free Pumpkin Cake Mix 
• Carob Chip Cookie Mix
• Holiday Cookie Mix "Sugar" Cookies
• Puppy Scoops Ice Cream Mix (4 different flavors)
• Puppy Chillerz "Jello" for dogs
• Puptato Sweet Potato Chips

You can buy these products either from the Puppy Cake website or from Amazon!

Enjoy,

Puppy Cake Pupcakes + Review

First off, HAPPY TAMIL NEW YEAR :) I hope this year is mixed with happiness and long awaited dreams come true sprinkled with lots of laughter and love!

This is part 2 to my Puppy Cake + Review post (click here for part 1). In addition to Carob, Puppy Cake also makes Red Velvet, Banana, Pumpkin, and Peanut Butter. You are probably thinking what I did when I saw the list of flavors which is RED VELVET FOR DOGS?!? Its not really red velvet as it is dyed with beets. I, of course, bought almost all the flavors (Peanut Butter was not eligible for prime shipping on Amazon, so it was the only flavor I did not get).

What good is a birthday without a birthday paw-tay?!? I wanted to throw Ninja a party at the park because not only was he turning the Big 5 but it would be his last birthday here before we move. Ninja loves the dog park we go to. We have tried other dog parks but Ninja will not interact or play -- he has to go this THIS dog park. I have been taking him to the same dog park, everyday (minus a few days here and there), since he was 4 months. And we have made a great group of friends, furry and human :) It is going to be really hard for us to leave them behind.

Just like the carob mix -- I really enjoyed the mixes, but did not use the frosting. Each mix has the same three ingredients that you add -- water, oil and an egg. All simple and fail proof. I noticed that although the boxes state it makes 8 regular sized cupcakes, the Pumpkin and Banana made 9. The red velvet made slightly less batter -- I made 9 cupcakes but they were much smaller than the other mixes. I also recommend baking the cupcakes for slightly less than the box suggests (I noted that below). I did not have to spend forever making delicious pupcakes for Ninja and his friends to enjoy -- and they definitely enjoyed it!

Puppy Cake Pupcakes + Review

From Puppy Cake

INGREDIENTS

Preheat 350F Degrees

FOR THE CAKE
1 Puppy Cake mix
3/4 c. water
1/4 c. of vegetable oil
1 egg

FOR THE FROSTING
16 oz. (2 packages) of cream cheese
3 tbsp. honey
1/2 c. honey
1/2 c. peanut butter
Dog treat for garnish (optional)

DIRECTIONS

For the cake:
In a bowl combine cake mix, vegetable oil, water and egg. Coat cupcake tray with liners. Pour batter into each liner about 1/2 - 2/3 full and bake for 20 minutes or until inserted toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool.

For the frosting:
While the cupcakes are baking, in the bowl of the stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream together cream cheese, peanut butter and honey. Mix the ingredients for a few minutes and you will notice the frosting will get fluffier. The frosting should be slightly stiff. Frost cupcakes and garnish with dog treat.

Enjoy,

Puppy Cake + Review

Happy Birthday to Ninja face! This past Saturday he turned the BIG 5! My sweet baby boy who I picked up at 11 weeks is now 5-years-old!?! I am definitely one of those dog people who are way too obsessed with their dog and is completely okay with it. So for his 5th birthday I knew I wanted to do something extra special -- a day filled with yumminess, goodies and friends.

If you are looking for cute dog toys -- I highly recommend these Kyjen or Zippy paw toys. They are toys stuffed (that do not tear easily) with little animals and Ninja loves to just pull them out. He has a tree trunk with little squirrels in it, bamboo trunk with little pandas, bee hive with bees, chicken coup with chicks and a banana with monkeys. Too cute!

As I was shopping for Ninja's presents, I kept stumbling on these Puppy Cake mixes. I bought them on Amazon. They seemed really neat and I am always a fan of, what I like to call "spoiled dog products." Plus the mixes got extremely high ratings on Amazon; a big hit with other pups. They come in many different flavors and yogurt frosting. For Ninja's birthday cake, I decided to use carob cake mix but not the frosting. The frosting did not look very good and I wanted something a little more taste appealing. So I decided to make my own frosting.

Each mix makes a 6" cake so I bought 2 mixes to make one, slightly taller 8" cake. Some disclosure -- if you are making a cake for just one dog, this will be way too much. I do not like giving Ninja too much junk food because it is not healthy and I want to avoid any stomach aches. I ended up giving some of his cake away to friends. 1 mix should be plenty. However, if you have more than one dog 2 mixes might be great. These mixes are EASY to make. Completely fail proof!

Add some oil, water and an egg and they bake perfectly. Frost it -- add some treats for decoration and voila! You got yourself one delicious pup friendly cake! Ninja LOVES it :) He gives it 5 paws up! I definitely recommend this product for your next paw-tay! ;)

 

BIRTHDAY PUPPY CAKE

From Puppy Cake

INGREDIENTS

Preheat Oven to 350F Degrees

FOR THE CAKE
1 box of Puppy Cake mix 
3/4 c. water
1/4 c. vegetable oil
1 egg

FOR THE FROSTING
8 oz. of cream cheese
2/3 c. all natural peanut butter
1/8 c. honey

DIRECTIONS

For the cake:
In a bowl combine cake mix, vegetable oil, water and egg. Coat 6" cake pan with cooking spray. Pour batter into cake pan and bake for 20 minutes or until inserted toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool.

For the frosting:
While the cake is baking, in the bowl of the stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream together cream cheese, peanut butter and honey. Mix the ingredients for a few minutes and you will notice the frosting will get fluffier. The frosting should be stiff and not sticky to the touch. Frost cake and garnish with dog treats.

Enjoy,

Birthday Pupcakes

Happy Birthday to my baby! My Ninja face turned the big 0-3! Can you believe it? Another year older, and it flew right by! Well, being the Ninja obsessed mom that I am, I had planned a birthday party with my dog park friends. I thought I would make some pupcakes for the furry-babies and cupcakes for the humans ;) I also did not want Ninja to spend his birthday by himself, so I re-arranged my school schedule so that I was back around noon. It worked out perfectly, because I got to be home with Ninja and make some baked goods for his par-tay. Though I was 20 minutes late to our own party :/ I felt so bad! I mean who is late to their own party! #partyfail.

I was a bit bummed because it has been raining for a few days, and though it was not raining today, it was really, really cold! Where in the world did the warm weather suddenly go?! I mean it is April and this is Texas. I was worried that people would not come because it was so cold, muddy and dreary. I mean- I was even questioning whether to go ;) I am not a fan of the cold. I was happily surprised that when I got there- with about 60 cupcakes in hand (30 pupcakes and 30 red velvet)-- almost everyone who RSVPed actually came and then some :) How sweet was that! And they even waited to give their dogs pupcakes until I could take a picture :) #love #bestdogparkfriendsapersoncouldhopefor! Ninja and I totally love it!

You know who else came? Because I just have awesome friends like that? Justin and Luke. Ninja loves himiself- his Uncles Justin and Luke. He got so excited when he saw them there! And we celebrated with pupcakes and cupcakes :) Ninja tried to steal everyone's pupcake because he ate his too fast. And Beau and I were so popular holding extra pupcakes! But everyone seemed to have a nice time! Of course, Ninja cried when we left after 2 HOURS of play because Justin and Luke went in their own car. He got so upset! Luckily Justin did not have much work to do this evening and so he came to our place, to enjoy some dinner and open presents with Ninja! It was a great birthday :) Could not ask for a better birthday for my baby!

BIRTHDAY PUPCAKES

Adapted from Pizzazzerie

INGREDIENTS

Preheat Oven to 350F Degrees
                                          

makes 30 pupcakes  FOR THE PUPCAKES 4 c. white-whole wheat flour  4 tsp. baking soda  1 (6oz) Chobani banana-strawberry yogurt 2 c. apple sauce  6 tbsp. vegetable oil 1/2 c. honey  4 eggs 4 apples, chopped  1 carrot, grated  1 c. shredded cheese  FOR THE FROSTING 16 oz. (2 packages) cream cheese 3 tbsp. honey 1/2 c. peanut butter  Small dog treats for garnish (optional)

makes 7-8 pupcakes FOR THE PUPCAKES 1c. white-whole wheat flour 1 tsp. baking soda  3oz Chobani banana-strawberry yogurt  1/2 c. apple sauce 2 tbsp. vegetable oil 1/8 c. honey  1 egg 1 apple, chopped 1/2 carrot, grated 1/3 c. shredded cheese FOR THE FROSTING 4 oz. cream cheese 1 tbsp. honey 1/8 c. peanut butter Small dog treats for garnish (optional)

* I provided the recipes for 2 different amounts, since I figured not everyone would be throwing puppy parties at the dog park ;)

DIRECTIONS

For the Pupcakes:
Line cupcake pan with liners. In a large bowl whisk together flour and baking soda. Then add in wet ingredients--yogurt, apple sauce, vegetable oil, honey and eggs and mix until incorporated. Then fold in (rather than stir in) apples, cheese and carrots. Continue folding batter, until all ingredients are evenly distributed. Folding by hand rather than mixer- will prevent over-mixing and make pupcakes more fluffy. Using an ice cream scoop, fill each cupcake liner. Bake for 20 minutes or until inserted toothpick comes out clean. Let pupcakes completely cool before frosting.

For the Frosting:
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream together ingredients (cream cheese, honey, and peanut butter). Allow the ingredients to cream for 6-10 minutes. You will notice the frosting double in size. This will create a nice, stiffy yet fluffy frosting! Frost cupcakes using a decorative tip of choice and top with dog treat. Ninja and the other dogs LOVED it! :)

Hope your pup enjoys,
Chika