German Horse Treats/Stud Muffins (NOT for human consumption*) (NEW AND IMPROVED!)
February 27, 2011 § 60 Comments
is this an abuse of the blog? maybe. that said, my latest baking endeavor has involved trying to craft the perfect low-cost horse treat. do i realize that this will be of interest to exactly 1 reader of this blog? yes. but one way or the other, it IS baking, and i have posting privileges (though they may now be short-lived). and so.
1 1/4. steel cut oats
3/4 c. molasses (see note above)
1/2 c. flour
1/2 c. flaxseed
2 tsp cornstarch
1/4 c. water
apple or pear scraps, processed (skins work well), appx 1/4c. discussions have been had about using beet scraps, too.
mix molasses and oats, until oats are fully coated. gradually stir in flour, flaxseed and cornstarch until combined.
Add in scraps and water and stir to combine.
grease the hell out of a muffin tin. seriously. waaaaay more than normal. or you will end up chipping horse muffins out of the tin, and risk breaking your knife. not that i speak from experience. *ahem*.
fill muffin tins slightly halfish full (heaping teaspoon if you’re using a small muffin tin)
bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes, and err on the short side if you’re using a tiny muffin tin. watch them closely for the last bit- they will burn quickly, on accounta the high sugar content, and i assume burning is gross, even for horses.
press in chrismas peppermint candy, if you wish, and then remove from tin immediately. i put them in the fridge to cool and firm up.
they seem to be keeping pretty well out at the barn (but, then again, it’s still about fridge-temperature out there so it’s anyone’s guess how they’ll fare in the summer). More importantly, the girls love them!!
*clearly these COULD be eaten by humans. but i’ll be honest. i taste-tested out of curiosity, and not so delicious.
we cook and drink together. 
So clearly you didn’t like them, but what did Bailey think??
Seriously what’s with the peppermint? Weird.
Horses looooooooooooove peppermints!!!
they LOVE the peppermint. it’s like horse chocolate. the fact that you don’t understand that completely explains why the beast tried to kill you.
I probably had a mint in my pocket and Bailey thought the only way to get it was to buck me off and grab it while I was down…
I think you just added the peppermint so that it looks like the recipe belongs here!
this absolutely had a gut laugh from this one, lol
Is it bad that now there is a peppermint I want to try one?
Also, have you tried baking in muffin liners, and then just rip them off before serving? Seems easier than greasing the hell out of a tin.
Honestly, they’re sticky enough when they come out that getting the liners back OFF of the treat might pose a problem, so I would stick to greasing the hell out of the tin. If you DID want to try liners, I would find something that won’t hurt your horse if you miss a bit (I’m no vet, but I would guess that nice organic paper liners without chemicals are to be preferred over ones that, say, involve metal).
I used the muffin liners and found that they stayed soft enough to easily take them off. I did use a cookie scoop instead of pressing them into the tins and removed them pretty soon after taking out of the oven before they got very hard.
Are the pictures above YOUR muffins? And, did these stay somehat soft and/or sticky? Or were they crunchy?
Yes, the picture on the blog post is mine.
As to the crunch… the oats don’t soften much, so there is some built in crunch there, but the muffin itself generally stays fairly soft. I would be concerned, for example, about leaving them in direct sunlight or a hot car, as I’m pretty sure they would go into complete and total meltdown (they’re in large part sugar, so no real revelation there), but they tend to keep pretty well out at the barn–i store them in an airtight container that I picked up at Target or Ikea or some such. Hope that helps!
My daughter and I just cooked up a batch ofo these. They smell heavenly. I know our equuine friends are going to love these!
[…] the cores and skins in a Ziploc and put in the freezer. they will come in handy later when you make these). 4. heat butter over medium-high heat. add onion and apples and cook approximately 10 minutes, […]
I made them and just plopped spoonfuls onto a Silpat mat, worked wonders and happy horses!
what a great idea!!
Hey thanks for the recipe! Just made a double batch for our pony! Added some peppermint extract for some extra mint flavour as he will enjoy this! for other readers 15 minutes was just perfect cooked on 350 (not convection) in mini muffin tin
I was planning on making these tomorrow. I have flax seeds, on the back it says may contain peanuts. I know horses shouldn’t have peanuts? Is it still ok to use the flax seeds?
I am not a vet, so I’d ask yours for the final word if you have any concerns. I assume the only ingredients listed on your product are flax. I suspect the flax is labeled that way because it’s bagged in a plant that also processes nuts (there’s always a risk of cross contamination). So you SHOULD be just fine. Again, though, if you’re worried call your vet!
Thank you. Yes, on the back it also say May contain peanuts, soy, and milk… So i assume that they were made in the same factory and could have been cross contaminated…
then i’d wager it’s safe to use the flax. i hope your horse likes them!
Thank you for giving us this recipe! Great idea on the peppermint oil instead of more sugar. My boys love Stud Muffins and we have a substantial call in the area for them, so thinking of making these for the local feed store.
BTW: peppermints are great for endurance riders and their horses, keeps the mouth moist for both.
may seem like a silly question, but for this recipe do you use whole flax seed or ground flax seed? thanks!
Not silly at all! I use ground flax seed (meal) because that’s what I tend to have on hand (for use in people food) but you could probably get away with either. If you do you use the whole flaxseeds i would probably just add in a little bit more flour to keep it from being too wet/sticky.
I use Chia seeds too
About how many muffins does this recipe yields? Do they have a good enough consistency were you could almost rolled them into balls and cook them on a cookie sheet with parchment paper and then throw the mint on top?
How many muffins does this recipe yield? Also, is the muffin dough consistent enough where you could roll balls and cook them on parchment paper on a cookie sheet then press Amenta and when they came out?
I think it’s about 2 dozen and change mini muffins. And I would not recommend trying to do it as balls– I would think the molasses would melt and you’d have a giant mess on your hands. I’d stick to doing them in mini muffin tins.
Have you ever tried silicone muffin cups?
I haven’t– I actually don’t own any! but if you give it a try, I would LOVE to hear how it works out!
I made these and used a silicone mini muffin tray. They popped right out of the tray when I turned it upside down. Super easy. I did spray with olive oil before baking so I’m sure that helped. My horse loved them and they stayed fresh in a ziplock bag in the barn fridge.
Just made two batches! First batch I did as directed, second batch I made using foil cupcake cups which worked much better! Held them together while the hardened in the fridge and came off pretty easy!
This is almost exactly what I made, I used rice bran oil and added pumpkin pie spice, pureed carrots and apples. Very true about extra oil. Low sugar, low starch, very healthy
I made this for my pony and they came out perfectly! I think she will love them! Thank you so much!
I made these and my horse Eli loves them
Thank you for posting this recipe! My horse loves them! I did make a small change that makes them more tasty (even by people standards)…. I followed the recipe, except instead of carrot or apple pieces, I mashed up a banana and added it! My little guy goes crazy for them! Thank you again for this recipe!
Oh great!! I’ll have to give that a try!
Also, I baked these in free standing grease-free paper baking cups for mini muffin sizes. I did however grease the heck out of them with coconut oil! I baked them on a air bake cookie sheet. Result = absolutely no burning & they slid right out of the baking cups! Perfect every time!
Made 2 batches these this morning they worked well. I used applesause for the first batch instead of applebits and water. The second batch i used shredded carrots and water. I think I will add more water to the apple sause next time. For the tins I buttered and floured them like a cake tin and had no issues with them trying to stick. Popped right out even after cooled! 🙂 thanks for thr post!
I am SO glad I found this recipe. I as worried because my original pin I saved on Pinterest no longer pulls up. My horses love these little treats. They are perfect to hide medicine in (after baking) that horses can sometimes sniff out and not want to eat normally. Thanks for the recipe.
I’m so glad you like the recipe (and managed to track it down again!)
What do you use to grease the muffin tin? Spray, vegetable, corn or coconut oil, or like, Crisco?
I usually use Pam, but imagine anything would work!
We made these treats for the horses at the barn a few months ago and they were a big hit. I ran out last week so made a double batch tonight and just noticed that your recipe calls for 1/4 cup water, which I didn’t use last time. I can’t see anywhere in the recipe that you mention adding the water so I added about 1/2 of the 1/4 cup of water and it seemed to make the treats fluffier and a lighter color. Do you just mix the water in with the ingredients? Thanks so much. The horses loves these treats.
Eep! My recipe-writing skills could use a little work! Yup, just mix it in with the other ingredients. Good to know that the ponies don’t seem to mind if you leave it out, though 🙂
When do you add the water and apple
I fixed it! Mix in at the end after all the sry ingredients and stir to combine.
*dry
Are the apple scraps dried?
No. I either use fresh peels, or previously frozen (e.g., if I’m making an apple pie I save the apple peels in the freezer until I make horse muffins).
Maybe instead of Flour, grind up some of the oats for possible no bake recipe
Awww, don’t feel ignored. This is my go-to recipe for treats for my horse. He loves them and I know what’s in them is good for him. 🙂
Yay! I’m so glad to hear it!!
How do you add in the apple scraps? Do you grind them up, or do you chop them fine? Or do you just put them in? Many Thanks!
Chop them finely or put them in the food processor!
Also is the flax mandatory? For example, if I don’t have it but want to make the muffins, will they turn out okay?
I’ve never done it without the flax, but it should be just fine!
we used a silicone baking pan – you don’t need any grease and the muffins come out easily … the muffins can be frozen to make one batch last a long time! We defrost them in small batches on a paper towel – we like the softer peppermint treats sold as ” puffs” and cut them in half – this recipe also works well with oat groats
Can’t wait to make these for the Budweiser Clydesdales!!!! Early christmas for the horses!!!
I’ve made these muffins twice and haven’t had one complaint (from the horses)!! I altered the recipe a little by including a whole apple and a ripe pear – chopped. However, I learned when you do this, you should omit the water. Thank you for sharing this recipe.