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I bought a new horse (Cosmo) a few weeks ago. In addition to eating loads of carrots, he’s also eating all of my free time. We got out first big snow day in a long time last weekend and I was meeting up with some friends to ride in the snow, so I decided to make some homemade horse treats to bring along. The treats were a big hit! Even one horse who is a super picky eater enjoyed them.
Cosmo’s Carrot Crunch Cookies {Horse Treats}
Crunchy carrot, apple, and oat homemade horse treats.
Servings: 24 treats
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cups grated carrots
- 1 packet apples and cinnamon instant oatmeal (or another variety for a cinnamon-free treat)
- 1½ cups all purpose flour
- ½ cups steel cut oats
- ½ cup molasses
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- Cooking spray
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- Combine all ingredients using an electric mixer (hand mixer or stand mixer) until well-combined.
- Grease a mini muffin tin with cooking spray.
- Use a cookie scoop to scoop each cookie portion into the compartments of the muffin tin. Press down each cookie with the back of the cookie scoop.
- Bake for about 25 minutes until the cookies are hard. Remove and cool on a wire rack.
Notes
Consult a veterinarian if you’re unsure whether ingredients are appropriate for your horse.
I loved the horse treats but I think my horse loved them more!!! We didn’t have a mini muffin tins so I just put them in a square muffin tin and they weren’t hard but she still was in love!!!! Thank you
I’m so glad she liked them! One of the pickiest eaters in the barn liked these and his owner was surprised. If you want them to be crunchy in the larger muffin tin, you can bake them for longer. I recommend doing 5 extra minutes to start with. If they don’t seem hard enough after that, just check them every 2 minutes or so.
Can you freeze these? Thinking of making some for my mums horse as a Christmas present
I haven’t tried freezing them, but I don’t see any reason why not. I think it would be best to use them pretty quickly after thawing in case condensation from freezing and thawing introduces additional moisture.
These are so great! Can the baked cookies be frozen?
I’m so glad you like the recipe! I haven’t tried freezing any, but I’ll give it a try when I make them again soon. If you do freeze them, I recommend using them shortly after thawing just to prevent any ick from growing from if condensation from the freezer container introduces moisture. Similar to freezing cookies for humans, I recommend freezing them on a baking sheet first (to prevent sticking together), then transfer to the container of choice. Then remove from the container and thaw on a plate with some paper towels (so they don’t get soggy). I’ll reply with an update once I’ve tested this!
Great recipe, I put the mixture in a brownie tin and then cut them into squares while still warm, baked them a little longer and a lower heat to avoid burning, they went hard and the horses loved them!
Thx
How many Mini muffins do you give your horse?
I usually give him about 3 or 4.
I going to make this tonight for my horse Chase!!!! I can’t wait to see what he thinks about these????😂👏👏Thank You 🤞🤞❣️❣️
I hope he loves them!
He loves them!
Hi Sarah! Can I do the recipe without the molasses? I don’t knkw where to find them.
Unfortunately the molasses is an important ingredient because it helps everything stick together. If you’re in the US, molasses is fairly common in the baking aisle of most grocery stores. It comes in a jar. It’s also available for purchase on Amazon. When I just searched on Amazon, the first few results weren’t very helpful. Look for one of the jars from a brand like Grandma’s, Golden Barrel, Wholesome Sweeteners, or Plantation. You only need a small size jar. The recipe uses a half cup, which is 4 fluid ounces.
Do you think I can sub honey instead of molasses?
I haven’t tried making them with honey instead of molasses, so I can’t say either way. If you do give it a try, keep a close eye on them when they’re in the oven in case it affects baking speed.