Pineapple Upside Down Pupcakes

Preheat oven to 350

3 whole cherries, pitted, cut in half
1 8 oz can pineapple tidbits (drained with the juice reserved)
Coconut oil for brushing pan
Dollop of honey in each of 6 cupcake/muffin tins

Prepare cupcake/muffin pan by brushing about 1tsp coconut oil into each of 6 cups-be sure to brush the sides, but most of it will drip down into the cup. Put small squeeze of honey in the bottom of each cup... just like a nickel size and place the cherry cut side up on the honey drizzle. Sprinkle the pineapple around the cherry and set the pan aside while you prepare the batter.

1 tbs ground flax seeds
3 tbs reserved pineapple juice, water or low sodium chicken stock

Mix together and set aside for about 5 minutes, stirring every minute or so

1 medium ripe banana mashed
1/4 cup coconut oil
1 can salmon in water drained and rinsed
1/2 cup low sodium chicken stock or water
1 tbs ground flax seeds
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup white flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder

Mash banana well and mix with coconut oil and remaining dry flax seed. The mix in flax seed pineapple juice mixture until well combined. Add in salmon and chicken stock and mix well. Add in flours and baking powder and soda and mix until just incorporated.

Drop by spoonfuls into prepared baking cups until just to top of cups. I had some extra which I made into mini muffins without the pineapple.

Put in the pre-heated oven and bake until a toothpick comes out clean about 17-18 minutes for the full sized cupcakes. About 12 minutes for the mini cupcakes.

Most of the ingredients in these pupcakes should be familiar to you if you’ve read my other posts. In moderation, pineapple is a wonderful fruit for your four-legged friend to enjoy; and while fresh is always best (FYI; the fibrous core makes a fairly healthy chew “bone” that your dog will probably love), we can be real for a moment and acknowledge how much of a pain it can be to chop up a pineapple—just buy a can of pineapple packed in water or 100% juice and drain it, I can’t judge you since that’s what I did. Also, you’ll want to remember how sweet pineapple is and that your dogs will think it’s at least 100% sweeter than you; so use it sparingly when decorating the tops of your pupcakes.

When giving cherries or any other stone fruit to your pets, it’s important to acknowledge that the reason they’re generally not recommended for dogs is that the pits are the problem. Be sure to pit your cherries prior to feeding them to your pets and before using them in this recipe; and while I was “lenient” on the pineapple front, you should use fresh or frozen cherries in this recipe not the red-dye soaked ones you find packed in syrup and use on your banana splits.

Cherries are good for you, and there’s something somewhat satisfying about spitting the pits if you eat them yourself. FYI: if you don’t own a cherry pitter, you’ll want to visit your local Chinese-food restaurant and pick up a pair of chopsticks—you can poke the cherry with it (yes, I’m guessing that will be a mess), but I’ve read it will extract the pit (yes, I own a cherry pitter that I purchased from Bed, Bath, and Beyond in my early days of dating Rob in an attempt to wow him with a homemade cherry pie—and ummm…it is kind of impressive just to say).

As with all of my recipes, this one is somewhat flexible. If you don’t have or want to get ground flaxseeds, just an egg or add another banana or substitute applesauce. If you don’t have a banana, use an egg or applesauce. If you have no eggs, bananas, applesauce, or flaxseeds, don’t make this recipe—I’m only half serious…umm…let me think…mayonnaise can be used in place of eggs—but I used the flax seeds instead of the eggs to lower the cholesterol and fat content which mayo doesn’t do…buy a couple bananas—they’re good for a lot of dog treats.

If you don’t have stock, you can use the drained pineapple juice or water—I’d lean toward the water as the pineapple juice will add a lot of sugar; but they’re your dogs, make them hyper if you want. In the case of flours, all whole wheat or all white flour can be used—if you go the all whole wheat route, you’ll want to increase the leavening and maybe add a few tablespoons more water—whole wheat flour tends to suck up moisture. And if you’re trying to be gluten free, you can sub your gf all purpose flour blend; but remember, xantham gum, a common ingredient in most off the shelf gluten free flour blends, is probably worse for your dog than the gluten.