Homemade Bunny Cookies

[CinnabunMom]

I’ve been looking into homemade bunny cookies for Cinnabun and some of the recipes I’ve found call for honey and oats. I seem to have gotten into my head that honey is dangerous and that oats are a “almost never” treat. Am I crazy? Has anyone else ever made cookies for their bun? How do they go over?

[peppypoo]

Yea, I’d avoid those ingredients. Here’s my take on bunny cookies: 

When we make cookies for people, it’s important to have a good exact recipe because you’re essentially making a chemistry project working with water, flour, baking soda/powder, eggs etc…you don’t want your cookies to turn out too lumpy, too hard, to flour-y, etc. Also, specific heat requirements are needed to sterilize the “dangerous” raw ingredients like eggs (who am I kidding, raw cookie dough is delicious haha). However, the great thing about most bunnies is that they don’t care about these requirements! I never use a recipe when I make bunny cookies, and in fact I’m pretty sure they’ve been different every time just depending on what’s in my fridge.  But they’re always well received.

Just start with some softened pellets (add a bit of water to pellets and they’ll come apart easily with a bit of poking) – this will be your “flour”. As far as the rest of it goes, add however much juice/diced fruit/veggies/bunny-safe tidbits as you want. If it’s too dry, add more juice/water; if it’s too wet, add more “flour”.  Simple as that!

Mix into a homogenous “dough” and shape however you see fit – either in sheets, or if you’re less lazy than I am, in individual treat-sized balls. As for baking time, the goal is to dehydrate out the cookies so that they keep well…unlike human cookies, an exact temperature and time aren’t necessary to make your chemistry turn out perfectly. I usually turn the oven to 200-250 and bake for as long as it takes for things to become nice and crispy without burning them.  This usually takes quite a while and makes my entire apartment smell like a strange mixture of pellets and fruit.

As you can tell, I’m the kind of person who just eyeballs everything when I cook haha. But really, it’s fun! No need for recipes or measuring; just play with different bunny-safe fruits and veggies! Chances are Cinnabun will love whatever you make .

[FluffyBunny]

Actually, oats are a good treat. I give a couple teaspoons of quick oats to my bunnies every week or so, and they love it. As for honey, it’s okay in very small amounts, but it’s no better than fruit or sugar for sweetening the cookies.

Personally, I like to replace the honey with a bit of brown sugar or fruit juice. I also like to add applesauce or mashed bananas (in place of eggs), a small amount of baking powder, and a touch of cinnamon. For “flour”, I use about half crushed pellets, 1/4 whole wheat flour, and 1/4 whole oats. I pour the batter into mini muffin cups and bake them for 15 minutes or so at 350 F. One muffin serves two bunnies. They last for about 2-3 weeks in the fridge, a few months in the freezer.

[CinnabunMom]

Thanks for the recipes! I’m totally trying one tonight. Cinnabun deserves a treat (or so I’m being told….)

[Malp_15]

I thought I read somewhere that quick oats were a big no no? and that if you gave any, you should use regular oats.. I can’t remember where I read that though, so I may be crazy.

I make homemade cookies quite frequently and i use:

pellets (ground in a coffee grinder)
tiny bit of oats (ground in a coffee grinder)
some banana mushed (as a binder, you’ll find without a binder that the cookies will fall apart really easily)
100% fruit juice, no sugar added baby food, or no sugar added applesauce

I roll out the “dough” a bit and then cut out 1/2 in circles and place them on a non-greased baking sheet. I bake at 350 until they are very firm, but not burnt. then I turn off the oven and just leave them over night to cure. They are then hard enough that it helps with their teeth and they last for a LONG time because there is no moisture.

My rabbits, my friends guinea pigs, and the rescue rabbits & horses I work with all LOVE them.

[tanlover14]

This is such a good idea, I’ve never even thought of doing this for my buns! I definitely need to try it!! Thanks for the great idea in the post, Cinnabun, and everyone who contributed! I’m excited to try this now!

[FrankieFlash]

I know I’m late to join on the band-wagon but thanks everyone for the recipes. I’ve been busy Bunjamin cookies from Bunspace but it’s getting costly so I meant to look up recipes and you guys just saved me a lot of google searching. Thanks!

[lzrddr]

In my opinion I would taket the ‘no oats’ suggestion more seriously. As a veterinarian, I have seen too many cases of severe ileus (stasis) in rabbits that have been consuming carbohydrates like oats, sugar etc. Most of the rabbit veterinary specialists agree on this list of no-nos so I would probably not ignore them. Giving them even a few oats is a bit like saying smoking a little is OK. I don’t think there is a safe amount of oats you can feed a rabbit, but then not everyone that smokes is going to die of cancer, either.

[Author]

Messages