No one should have to miss out on the delight of homemade holiday treats just because they are human. Take your pick from our holiday dog treat recipes. Not only are they easy to whip up, but they’ll bring joy to the holidays for dogs of all ages.
1. Doggie-Safe Candy canes.
These treats are a little labor intensive, but so worth it to share with your pups. To give yourself a head start, you can make up a batch a head of time. You can freeze them for a maximum of six months. Gift them to all the dogs in your life by tying some with a lovely ribbon.
– 2 cups of unbleached flour
– 1/4 cup of skim milk powder
-1/3 teaspoon of baking powder
– 1/4 Cup Bone broth of any flavor
– Two big eggs (One for the egg wash)
– 2 teaspoons of all-natural red food coloring, like beet juice, is a good option. If you are using red food dye, make sure to double -check if it’s puppy-safe!
-Extra flour to be mixed when kneading.
Steps:
1. In a big bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and powdered milk. In a small bowl, ladle the Bone broth. It should be whisked into the eggs.
2. Toss the wet ingredients into the dry ones and mix until a well forms. Combine by stirring.
3. Get the dough out of its sticky state by kneading it.
4. Halve the dough and set aside. Put half of it in the fridge after wrapping it in wax paper.
5. To the remaining dough, add red food colorant and knead until the dough changes color. You should probably use wax paper or a baking sheet to prevent food coloring from getting all over your counter when you knead the dough. It is advisable to wear rubber gloves so your hands don’t become stained. After the dough turns red, cover it with wax paper and refrigerate it. After 2 hours, set aside to chill.
6. Spray cooking spray onto a baking sheet and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
7. Make an equal number of tablespoon-sized balls out of each dough ball. Carefully flatten each ball into thin, 5-inch-long strips.
8. Arrange the colorful strips in a candy cane shape on the baking sheet by twisting them together and curling the top.
9. Coat every candy cane with the egg wash, whisking the additional egg.
10. Finish baking and set aside to cool.
2. Christmas Cookies
These Christmas cookies are sure to get your pup’s tail a-waggin’! They’ll be doing so many tricks to get these treats. Their paw-rents will like them too since they’re so simple to make!
- 1 cup rye flour (or substitute rice flour or all-purpose flour)
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ cup unsweetened applesauce
- 2 tablespoons organic honey
- 3½ tablespoons olive oil (or substitute organic canola oil)
- 2 tablespoons organic dried cranberries, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds
- Add the flour, baking powder, applesauce, honey, and olive oil to a mixing bowl. Stir until well combined.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Knead dough on a lightly floured surface and roll out to about half an inch thick. Cut treats with a cookie cutter and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Firmly press a few pieces of chopped cranberries and pumpkin seeds into the top of each cookie.
- Bake for about 12-15 minutes, or until treats are firm to the touch.
- Turn off oven and open oven door. Allow cookies to cool in oven, about 20-30 minutes.
- Storage: cookies will keep for several days when stored in a covered airtight container in a cool, dry, shaded location. Cookies may also be frozen: separate treats with parchment paper and store in an airtight covered container.
1 cup molasses
4 tablespoons honey
1 cup water
½ cup vegetable oil
6 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
2 tablespoons chopped fresh ginger or one tsp. of dried powder ginger
First things first: Turn the oven on high heat (350 degrees). The second item you’ll need is a medium bowl and a large bowl. Melt the molasses with the honey in a medium bowl with the water and oil. Combine the baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and flour in the big basin. Once the liquid ingredients are combined, the dry ingredients should be added gradually. Combine them thoroughly. Now form the dough into four equal halves, wrap each in plastic wrap, and chill for at least three to five hours, or freeze for at least one to two hours (but don’t let them solidify!). When the dough has cooled, dust a work area with flour and roll it out to a thickness of approximately 1/4 inch. Keep in mind that it will require more time to cook if you make it thicker. Make some cute shapes out of the dough using a cookie cutter, like gingerbread men. Put shapes aside for a second; with a pizza cutter, you may cut the cookies into strips or squares, whatever suits your fancy.
Let the baking begin! The cookies should begin to become a golden brown color after 20 to 25 minutes in the oven. To test its crunchiness, remove one and break it. To achieve a particularly crunchy texture, bake them for a longer period of time.
Not required!
If you’d like, you can top these cookies with frosting. Use Fido’s Premium Icing, a tiny amount of white chocolate melting discs (non-coconut) and some food coloring, or melt some Yogurt Chips and add some food colorant.
*I want to emphasize that I am not a veterinarian or an animal nutritionist; thus, it is recommended that you seek the advice of your own authority when introducing new foods to your dog, and that you make sure that the food you prepare at home is balanced and has all the nutrients your dog needs to be healthy.
We hope that these holiday treat recipes help make the holidays with your fur-babies one of the best ones out there.