Yummo! We’re making homemade pumpkin herb truffle dog treats. Full of harvest flavours, these truffle-style dog treats are easy to make and pretty doggone healthy, too. Pawfect! Here’s the easy recipe for pumpkin truffle dog treats with optional delicious seasonings.
Making Homemade Truffle and Bliss Ball Dog Treats
Truffle (bliss ball) dog treats can be made using any combination of dog-friendly ingredients you like, as long as they set firm. This usually requires using either ingredients that set when chilled (coconut oil is one of my favourites) and/or ingredients that absorb moisture and firm up (coconut flour is one of my favourites). These pumpkin and herb truffle treats also include flax for healthiness and firming support.
Pumpkin and Herb Truffle Dog Treat Recipe
Homemade Pumpkin Truffle Dog Treats with (Optional) Dog-Friendly Herbs
The optional herbs in this recipe can be omitted or substituted to suit your preferences and pup’s palette. Want to boost the colour of the truffles? You can include a sprinkle of turmeric powder in the mixture for a boost of colour, scent, and healthy goodness.
Treat Ingredients:
- 3/4 cup pureed cooked pumpkin
- 2 tbsp coconut oil, warmed to liquid
- 2 tbsp ground flax or LSA
- Optional: 1 tbsp dried parsley
- Optional: 1 tbsp dried rosemary
- Approximately 1/3 cup coconut flour
The amount of flour needed will depend on the moisture of your pumpkin (pumpkin can vary quite a bit depending on type and prep methods) and your dry ingredients/options. Mix incrementally and if in doubt, I prefer to err on the side of wet. A slightly soft set truffle is better than a crumbly truffle. These truffles were left uncoated, but if you’re using a rolling coating for your treats, you might want to keep the mixture a little on the wet side so that the coating sticks well. Uncoated truffles can be made to suit your personal preferences. Wetter dough may make a softer finished truffle, but is often easier to shape when forming the balls.
Making the Treats:
- Combine the pumpkin puree, coconut oil, flax/LSA, and optional herbs in a mixing bowl.
- Add the coconut flour incrementally, mixing thoroughly, until you’ve reached the desired consistency for shaping. The the truffle dough may feel slightly loose and wet/oily when warm, but should hold shape when pressed. Not quite right? You can use a small amount of additional flour, additional oil, or warm water to adjust consistency to a nice sticky dough for shaping/pressing into balls. The finished balls will firm up with set time for moisture to absorb into the dry ingredients and when the coconut oil is chilled.
- Roll into small bite-sized balls.
- Coat (optional) or leave plain (as shown).
- Refrigerate until firm.
As with any treat, be mindful of treat size and consumption relative to your pet’s size and any other individual factors. Just like human bliss balls, you can break truffles into smaller pieces for serving and/or safety if your pet tends to gulp treats instead of chew.
Treat Making Tips and Tricks
- Truffle treats can be stored in the fridge short term or frozen for longer storage. See our comprehensive post on making and storing chilled dog treats for additional information on frozen and chilled homemade treats.
- I like to oven roast pumpkin/squash, then freeze it for ready use. It’s a convenient way to add sweet roasted pumpkin goodness not only to dog treats, but also to human meals. Cooked pumpkin is also great to have on hand in the event of upset dog tummies.
- If it’s sold in your area, you can substitute pumpkin puree (plain, not spiced or sweetened pie filling) and play with the flour quantity to get a workable consistency. Ready-made puree may have different moisture levels than home cooked mashed/pureed pumpkin.
- Coconut flour is a good option for gluten-free / grain-free pet treats, but is also a fairly healthy flour. It’s high in fibre, high in protein, and low-GI relative to alternatives. Coconut flour is very absorbent, which is key to getting a nice consistency and balance in these treats.
Hungry for more tasty treats? There are all sorts of homemade dog treat ideas in our blog archives. You can use the category and tag labels to find other recipes that might be of interest or use our internal search tools to find something specific. Remember, treats (bought or homemade) are for spoiling your pup in moderation. We share ideas from treats that we’ve made ourselves for our pets, but different animals have different preferences (likes/dislikes), just like people. Some pets may have special dietary requirements and/or food allergies/intolerances. If you are ever in doubt or have questions about what’s suitable for your pet, have a chat with your trusted vet.
