Great Homemade Holiday Treats for Your Dog
by Jenn Andrlik
Published on December 23, 2014
Holiday parties mean lots of tasty treats, but not everything you’re eating is good — or even safe — for your dog. But that doesn’t mean you can’t give your best buddy a stocking full of snacks.
We’ve found three delicious and simple dog biscuit recipes that make perfect last-minute gifts for Fido and his friends. While you’re baking cookies for Santa, why not make a sweet treat for your pooch as well? And remember, for safety purposes, always unwrap or untie any treats before giving them to your dog.
Super Simple Sweet Potato Dog Treats From Allrecipes.com
These easy treats from Allrecipes.com are made from ingredients you probably already have in your pantry. Use festive cookie cutters to make the treats more fun, and package them in a monogrammed stocking for gifting.
Ingredients
1 sweet potato
¼ cup unsweetened applesauce
2½ cups whole wheat flour
2 eggs
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350°. Prick sweet potato several times with a fork.
- Heat sweet potato in a microwave on high until tender, about 6 minutes. Cut potato in half and scoop flesh out of the skin into a bowl; discard skin. Mash potato with a fork or potato masher and transfer about 1 cup to a large bowl. Save any remaining sweet potato for another use.
- Mix whole wheat flour, applesauce and eggs with the sweet potato until a dough forms. Turn dough onto a well-floured surface and roll to about ½ inch thick. Cut out shapes using a cookie cutter or cut dough into strips with a pizza cutter. Arrange cookies on an ungreased baking sheet.
- Bake until crisp, 35 to 45 minutes. Cool in pan for 10 minutes before removing to cool completely on a wire rack.
Pumpkin Biscuits From Vetstreet.com
These seasonal biscuits include fresh and canned pumpkin, as well as chopped pumpkin seeds. The recipe suggests using a fork to create a crisscross pattern on the cookies when pressing them down, but the dough can also be pressed into cookie cutters to make them more festive. Tie them together with red ribbon or pack them in a "doggie bag" with a gift tag.
Ingredients
1 cup plain canned pumpkin puree
1 cup peeled, lightly blanched fresh pumpkin, diced into ¼-inch pieces
½ cup roasted pumpkin seeds, coarsely chopped
1 cup quick-cooking oats
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ cup molasses
½ cup honey
½ cup unsweetened applesauce
½ cup canola oil
Directions
- Preheat oven to 325°.
- Mix ingredients in a large bowl while slowly adding water to achieve a cookie dough consistency.
- Drop teaspoonfuls (for petite puppies) or tablespoonfuls (for big guys) of dough onto a parchment-paper-lined baking sheet, about 2 inches apart. Using a fork, flatten the dough into rounds and make a crosshatch pattern on the surface.
- Bake 10 minutes. Rotate the cookie sheet and bake another 5 to 10 minutes (less time is needed for the teaspoon drops), until cookies are golden and firm.
- Turn the oven off, open the door and allow treats to cool completely.
Blueberry Dog Biscuits From Marthastewart.com
These blueberry-based treats from Marthastewart.com make the perfect Hanukkah gift: Shape them with a star or snowflake cookie cutter and wrap them in silver paper or ribbon.
Ingredients
1½ cups oat flour
2½ cups quinoa flour
¾ cup flax meal
½ cup frozen organic, unsweetened blueberries
¼ cup olive oil
1 large egg
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350°. Line a baking sheet with a nonstick baking mat or parchment paper; set aside.
- In a large bowl, mix together all ingredients with 1 cup water to form a dough. Roll out mixture between two sheets of plastic wrap to ¼ inch thick; remove plastic wrap and cut out biscuits with a 3½-inch cookie cutter. Reroll scraps and continue cutting out biscuits.
- Space biscuits 1 inch apart on prepared baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes, until nicely browned and firm.
- Transfer biscuits to a wire rack. Turn off oven and place biscuits on wire rack in oven overnight.
Find more vetstreet.com dog treat recipes here.
