
We recently celebrated the anniversary of Churro’s adoption day with puppy doughnuts, new squeaky toys and lots of hugs. We usually try to celebrate in some small way because he’s such a joy to us (plus he’s an old guy and he totally deserves a party!). You may remember me telling you just how much we love him in this previous post. He certainly has changed our hearts and home for the better!

These puppy doughnuts are made with one of Churro’s favorite snacks – apples! The batter gets a big helping of unsweet applesauce, and even more apples are diced and folded into the batter. These doughnuts aren’t the light-and-fluffy sort, the coarse fruit and veg makes them dense and chunky.

In honor of his special day, I thought it might be fun for you to get to know Churro a little better. Here are 10 random Churro-the-pug facts:
- He loves his human dad and sleeps beside him every night. He also kicks in his sleep, so his dad is sometimes very tired in the morning.
- He sniffs armpits. (Weirdo!)
- He loves fruit, especially bananas, watermelon, blueberries and apples.
- He is protective of his kibble.
- He loves round plush toys (like that blue ball in the picture).
- He has a soft little old man bark.
- He bosses his pug brother around when he’s in the backyard, but turns into a marshmallow when he comes back inside the house.
- He has hip dysplasia and can only walk a short distance, so he gets to ride in a stroller when we go to the park.
- Car rides are his jam!
- He has cat blindness, which means he lives with two cats but has never seen either of them.

You’ll need a standard size doughnut pan to make these. Only baked doughnuts for puppies! I use and recommend this nonstick doughnut pan made by Wilton.

I wish you could’ve heard all the snurrrfling and snorrrfling and heavy breathing going on in the photos above. Churro was VERY into these.
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Biscuit and Churro on their best behavior because – doughnuts. |

Churro likes to lick the frosting off of the doughnuts before he digs into the cake (I can relate). The frosting isn’t sweet at all because it’s strained unsweet Greek yogurt. My dogs tolerate dairy just fine, but some dogs get an upset tummy with milk based foods. If you’re not sure about your dog, then omit the yogurt frosting. You may instead opt for a shmear of natural peanut butter with no salt and no sugar added.
We’ve now had Churro for six years! I remember when I first posted about him just two days after we adopted him in 2010 (see this post, and scroll to the bottom). We were still trying to settle on a name at the time. A lot has changed since then, and not just the grey on his face. He’s learned how to play and how to trust. We taught him that. We’ve learned about unconditional love. He taught us that.

Carrot and Apple Doggie Doughnuts
Equipment
- donut pan
Ingredients
- 2 cups 315 g brown rice flour
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup 235 g unsweet applesauce
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 1/3 cup 80 ml filtered water
- 1 medium organic apple finely diced about 105 g
- 1/2 large carrot grated (about 25 g)
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil melted, plus more for greasing the pan
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease the cavities of a nonstick doughnut pan with coconut oil; set aside.
- Combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl. Stir together until a thick batter forms.
- Transfer the batter to a piping bag or a zip-top bag with the corner snipped. Pipe the batter into the doughnut pan cavities to the very top (the batter will not rise much as it bakes). Rap the pan on the counter top to level the batter.
- Bake for 10 minutes. Let the doughnuts cool in the pan for 5 minutes, and then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- Repeat the process with the remaining batter.
- Serve cupcakes to delighted pups plain, or frost with strained Greek yogurt or natural peanut butter.

He has the cutest old man puppy face. That begging face is too precious. Happiest birthday to Churro! (I love his name btw.)
The photos are everything. I like his frosting smeared face 🙂
Gotta do this for my four hooligan rescue hounds!
Wow, four?! That's so awesome.
My heart could about burst seeing how much you love your babies! That's because I love my own babies as much as you love yours! Being mom to a pair of Great Danes, I've baked meaty treats and created complex meat terrines to celebrate birthdays! I know how important these events are! It warms me to see the love and attention you give to your baking, your photography . . .and your deeply loved pups! Thank you for sharing this part of your life with us!
Aw, thank you Kimberly. Wow, TWO Great Danes! I just love those gentle giants.
-xo
I just read the story of Churro and it broke my hear to hear what he went through. You are an amazing human being, you and your husband are for giving him a wonderful life. I enjoy your recipes and I also enjoy reading about your pugs on here as well. Churro and Biscuit are lucky pugs to have you in their life. Im excited to make these donuts for my two pugs, Butch and Buffy Jr.
much love
Rosie
You are so sweet, Rosie. Thank you so much for the kindness.
Hugs to Butch and Buffy Jr.!
Oh my goodness, that last photo of him eyeing the one on the plate is too perfect!
Does it need to be melted coconut oil?
Hi! Yes. It's best to melt the coconut oil before adding it to the batter. You can do this in the microwave at 10 second intervals. It shouldn't take long at all! Solid coconut oil can be used to lightly grease the molds. Just put a little on a paper towel and run the towel inside the cavities. I hope this helps! -h
How long do theses doughnuts keep for?
If you store them under plastic wrap in the refrigerator they'll keep 3-4 days.
Hi, just a question about the recipe.
Is the brown rice cooked before adding to the batter.
Hi Debbie. The brown rice flour goes in just as it comes in the package. Not to be confused with regular brown rice, brown rice flour has the consistency of regular flour.