Summer is one of my favorite times of the year. (Queue up Summertime by DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince).

The cookouts, warm weather, long days and sunny skies.  The positive flow of vitamin D is all around us.  There’s even ice cream.  I mean, who doesn’t love ice cream.  Mom sure does.  Especially, chocolate ice cream.  It’s her favorite.

She loves it so much that I thought that I’d give it a try too.  So, one day I snuck quietly into the kitchen to stand next to her scooping the ice cream.  My paws didn’t even make a sound.  I thought that if Mom saw me looking up at her with my “pretty please” eyes, she’d offer me some.

As I was standing there patiently, I heard a loud “Whoops!” and felt an ice-cold plop right on the top of my head.

My Mom’s first response was pure panic.  Not only did she not see me, but apparently pups aren’t even allowed to have chocolate.  Who knew?

Mom immediately picked me up and rushed me to the bathroom.  I spent the next 10 minutes with my head either under a running faucet or wrestling with a towel as Mom tried to clean off the chocolate from my fur.

Not only was I a little disappointed that I couldn’t try the ice cream, but I was also embarrassed.  Imagine how silly I looked with that big blob of ice cream on my face.

After I was all clean, I retreated to my blanket and stayed buried under the covers for the next hour.  I didn’t want to be bothered for two reasons.

1. The initial embarrassment of the ice cream landing smack on my face. Luckily there were no cute male pups watching.
2. And, the fact that I failed at my attempt to try ice cream for the first time. My plan was an epic fail.

Mistakes have never been my favorite thing in the world. 

Small mistakes.  Big mistakes.  It doesn’t matter to me.  I always have the tendency to stew in my own embarrassment.  There are even times I think back to past mistakes and start to cringe all over again.

It wasn’t until recently, I thought to myself, “Why do I let my mistakes bother me so much?  It’s not like I’m the only one that makes them.  Everybody does.”

I guess I look at mistakes the way a lot of people (and pups) do.  FAILURE.  It’s true.  Mistakes are technically failures.  And somewhere, like most of us do, I stopped giving myself permission to fail.  However, it has been my experience that…

So, in a weird way we should celebrate our mistakes and our failures.  Even Oprah says that our failures redirect us to the path that we’re supposed to go. Our mistakes prove to us that we have the courage to try and step out on faith, even when we’re not sure of the answer.  They lead us to life lessons and make us that much stronger as we overcome them.

Now, did I go about attempting to get ice cream the right way?  Nope.  However, I learned that standing quietly next to Mom while scooping ice cream isn’t necessarily the best thing.  I also learned that the road to chocolate for me isn’t necessarily a good one.  So, my mistake led me down a new path towards peanut butter banana ice cream.

These Peanut Butter Banana Ice Cream & Round Pupcakes are dedicated to having the courage to make a mistake.

And of course, we believe that every pupcake has a love story.  So, while your favorite pup is PUPPY LOVIN’ on these pupcakes, we’d love to hear from you.

Discuss a time when you had the courage to make a mistake.  What did you learn from it?

Please share your pupcake story in the box below.

And, after you’ve tried this recipe please share it with us @pupcakesugar on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, or all three.  We’d love to see how they turned out for you.

Ingredients

Banana Peanut Butter Ice Cream

• 3 Ripe Bananas
• 1 Tablespoon Creamy Peanut Butter (unsalted with no added sugars)

Peanut Butter Banana Round Pupcakes

• ½ Cup Whole Wheat Flour
• 1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
• 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
• 1 Mashed Banana
• 1 Tablespoons Creamy Peanut Butter (unsalted with no added sugars)
• 1 Egg

Instructions

Yields: 2 – 3 Scoops of Ice Cream & 4 – 5 Flat Pupcakes

For Banana Peanut Butter Ice Cream

1. Peel bananas and freeze them for 2 hours or overnight. You can also cut the bananas into pieces. (Optional)
2. Blend bananas in a blender or food processor until creamy.
3. Add peanut butter and blend until totally mixed.
4. Freeze ice cream overnight in plastic container.
5. Scoop ice cream into bowl and serve with banana peanut butter round pupcake.

For Banana Peanut Butter Round Pupcakes

1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper.
2. In small bowl mix together flour and baking powder. Set aside.
3. In a large mixing bowl add olive oil, mashed banana, peanut butter and egg. Beat on medium speed about 2 minutes or until combined.
4. Add dry ingredients into the mixture and blend for approximately 2 minutes until well mixed.
5. Measure a tablespoon of dough and place on a cookie sheet. Use a fork to press down the top of the dough to flatten.
6. Bake round pupcakes for 8 – 10 minutes or until slightly golden around the edges. Cool cookies on a wire rack for approximately 10 minutes.
7. Serve with banana peanut butter ice cream.

Notes

• This recipe is for a fun treat ONLY. It should not replace your dog’s regular meals.  Please consult with your vet on the best plan for your dog’s diet.