In many of the homes where we grew up, our animals didn’t know what the inside of our houses looked like. They thrived in the wild, our parents said. Not anymore. These days, our pets are living the good life!

At Uptown, our sweet little pets have sparked a new trend in our kitchens. Who knew there were so many pet recipes out there? Homemade pet treats are a fun diversion for us, and a nice change for our pets. Give it a try; we’d love to hear how your little one likes them.

We’ve compiled a few favorites for you to try. Happy baking!

PB & PUMPKIN TREATS
1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 eggs
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350. Whisk together flour, eggs, pumpkin, peanut butter, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg.

Add water as needed to help make the dough workable, but the dough should be dry and stiff. Roll the dough into a 1/2-inch-thick roll. Cut into 1/2-inch pieces. Bake until hard, about 40 minutes.

SAVORY BIRTHDAY CAKE
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup soft butter
1/2 cup olive oil
1 jar baby food (beef) strained
4 eggs
2-3 strips beef jerky
Low fat cottage cheese

Preheat oven to 325. Grease and flour an 8x5x3 inch loaf pan. Cream butter until smooth. Add oil, baby food, and eggs. Mix until smooth.

Mix dry ingredients into beef mixture until batter is smooth. Crumble beef jerky and fold into batter. Pour batter into loaf pan. Bake 70 minutes. Cool on wire rack 15 minutes. Top with cottage cheese. Store uneaten cake in refrigerator.

BANANA BARS
3 cups oatmeal
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 eggs
1/6 cup oil
1/2 cup honey
1 cup milk
2 mashed bananas

Preheat oven to 325. Grease a cookie sheet. Mix everything in a very large bowl. Spread on cookie sheet and bake for 1 hour. Allow breakfast bars to cool in the oven. Break into pieces and serve. Store extra bars in a sealed container.

APPLE CINNAMON TREATS
1 large apple
1/4 cup honey
3/4 cup of applesauce
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup oatmeal
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/8 cup whole wheat flour

Preheat oven to 350. Core, slice and mince the apple. In a large bowl, combine the minced apple bits, honey, applesauce, cinnamon, and oatmeal. Gradually blend in the wheat flour, adding enough to form a stiff dough.

In a small bowl, add 1/8 cup wheat flour. Spoon the dough by rounded teaspoons onto ungreased baking sheets, about 2 inches apart. Use a fork to flatten each spoonful into a circle.

Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and flip each cookie. Reduce oven temperature to 325. Return to oven and bake for an additional 30 minutes. Let cool overnight.