You might have caught the viral TikTok cottage cheese ice cream craze.
Unlike the human version, this dog-friendly version leaves out the chocolate (remember: it’s toxic to dogs!) and substitutes blackstrap molasses for honey, although you can opt for honey if you prefer. I love blackstrap molasses, though, for its extra nutrients.
Did you know a tablespoon of molasses contains the same amount of calcium as a glass of milk? Blackstrap molasses also supplies potassium, magnesium, vitamin B6, selenium, manganese, iron, sulfur, and copper, making it a good choice for treat sweetening.
All our dogs know, though, is that it produces a yummy ice cream!
I developed this recipe for our new Dog Ice Cream Coloring Book (which includes dog ice cream recipes).
You’ll need 1 cup of cottage cheese (small or large curd, it doesn’t matter), 1 tablespoon of blackstrap molasses and 1 tablespoon of peanut butter (creamy or crunchy).
In choosing your peanut butter, be sure the peanut butter has NO xylitol, a sweetener that is extremely toxic for dogs. Only a few manufacturers include this sweetener but always check the ingredients list to make sure you’re just getting plain peanut butter!
Toss all the ingredients in a blender or food processor and mix until creamy. You can feed this as a soft-serve ice cream or do like I do and freeze to make a longer-lasting treat.
You can use ice cube trays but I like silicone molds since it’s easier to pop the frozen ice cream out when you’re done.
I also added a little “handle” to the treat, half of a Peanut Butter and Applesauce Dog Treat.
Our dogs loved it!
Ingredients
- 1 cup cottage cheese
- 1 tablespoon blackstrap molasses
- 1 tablespoon peanut butter (xylitol-free!)
Instructions
- Blend all ingredients together until creamy.
- Pour into trays; freeze for four hours.
- Serve and keep leftover frozen.
Paris Permenter is the award-winning co-author, with John Bigley, of over 30 pet and travel books including The Healthy Hound Cookbook and Texas with Dogs, both available through Simon and Schuster. Paris is also a member of the Dog Writers Association of America.
