DIY Horse Treats (Poptarts, Macarons, Croissants, & Donuts)

I've been having a case of Instagram envy of all of the adorable treats people have been buying from Slews Chews and Snaks 5th Avenchew. Who wouldn't want to feed their ponies tiny cookies, cupcakes, and donuts? That being said, I'm not a big fan of the price tag. I usually give Casey apples, carrots, and the cheap kind of horse cookies, so shelling out about $10 for six horse donuts doesn't appeal to me. Of course, baking them myself sounded highly entertaining and I happened to have all of the necessary ingredients on hand, so that's what I did today!

Cute Instagram-worthy horse treats

This recipe is a modification of Nicole Equestrian's recipe. Check out her Youtube channel for other cool horse things!

Treat Ingredients
2 cups flour
2 dashes cinnamon
1 whole apple (any kind)
3/4 cup peanut butter
3/4 cup water

Icing/Topping Ingredients
1 cup powdered sugar
Water
Sprinkles
Crushed peppermint candies

The ingredients

Treat Directions
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Oven at 325 degrees

2. Mix flour and cinnamon together in a bowl
3. Grate the apple (I didn't use the core). Then put the apple bits in a paper towel and squeeze to remove juices.
4. Add the grated apple, peanut butter, and water to the bowl. Start with 1/2 cup of water and if the dough is too dry add more. You want the dough to not be sticky, but it also has to be able to hold together. If you accidentally make it too sticky, just add more flour.

Horse treat dough

5. Use the dough to make the types of treats you want:
Pop-tarts - Roll out dough flat, then cut out rectangles/squares. For each rectangle, use a fork to make divets on each side so that it will look like a real Pop-tart.

Horse pop-tart step 1

Horse pop-tart step 2

Pre-baking horse pop-tart

Donuts - Roll the dough between your hands until you get a long "snake" of dough. Loop the ends around and pinch at the seam so that they stay attached.

Horse donut

Macarons - Roll little balls of dough, then use the fork to create divets on the sides. Then mush the ball so that it is flatter. The fork-created divets will look like the raised side of a macaron.

Horse macaron

Croissant - Roll out dough flat, then cut out long skinny triangles. At the base of the triangle cut out a tiny triangle (so that the ends will pop out and curve), then roll the dough. Once the dough is rolled, curve the edges of the "croissant" in towards each other.

Horse croissant cut-out shape

Pre-baking horse croissant

6. Bake for 20-30 minutes (check at 20 minutes to determine how much more time is needed). Treats should be firm to the touch and golden brown in coloration.

Icing Directions
1. Put about a cup of powdered sugar into a bowl. Slowly add water (a very tiny amount at a time). If the mixture is too runny, add more powdered sugar. If it is too thick, add more water.
2. Stir powdered sugar and water together until desired consistency is met. It should be able to run off the spoon, but slowly.
3. Spoon the icing into a ziplock baggie.

Icing in ziplock bag

Decor Directions
1. Let the treats cool until they are no longer hot to the touch.
2. Cut the tip of the ziplock baggie that contains the icing. Squeeze the icing unto the treats in the design that you desire.
3. After adding the icing, you can add sprinkles or crushed peppermint candies to the top of the treat.

Crushed peppermint candy and rainbow sprinkles

Storage directions: Store these treats in a ziplock bag or in a Tupperware container. Keep out of extreme temperatures. Use within a week (although you could freeze them to make them last longer).

Pre-baking horse treats

Note: This recipe can be adapted based on your and your horse's needs and likes. For instance, my horse hates peppermint, so I really only used it to show you that it could be done (plus my dog LOVES peppermints). You could sub carrots instead of apples, or get rid of the fresh fruits and vegetables altogether. If you have peanut butter allergies, you could use molasses. If you don't want to feed your horse sugar, skip the icing and sprinkles. You could also add in oats! Feel free to mess with the recipe and let me know how it goes in the comments below!

These treats are also dog-safe!

Eden approves!