DIY Holiday Dog Treats: Easy & Healthy Recipes

Everyone loves indulging in holiday treats this time of year, including your pet. While it’s not safe to feed your dog human treats like cakes and cookies, you can make healthy, pet-friendly alternatives at home. These easy and delicious DIY holiday treats for dogs require five ingredients or less and include items you likely already have in your kitchen.

1. Apple & Carrot Cookies

In under an hour, you can have dog-friendly cookies for your pet that contain both fruit and veggies. This simple recipe requires an oven-safe mold, such as a simple dog bone shape or festive Christmas tree.

Ingredients:

• ½ cup unsweetened applesauce
• ½ cup shredded carrots
• 2 cups all-purpose flour

Directions:

1. Mix applesauce, shredded carrots, and all-purpose flour in a bowl.
2. Pour the mixture into an oven-safe mold.
3. Bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes.
4. Allow the treats to fully cool and then carefully pop them out of the mold.

2. Pumpkin & Peanut Butter Cutout Cookies

Most dogs love the taste of peanut butter, making this treat a must for the holiday season. For this recipe, you’ll need cookie cutters to create fun holiday shapes.

Ingredients:

• 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• ½ cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
• 2 eggs
• 2 tbsp peanut butter
• ½ tsp cinnamon

Directions:

1. Combine flour, pumpkin, eggs, peanut butter, and cinnamon in a bowl.
2. Roll out the dough onto a clean surface to approximately ¼-inch thickness.
3. Cut out shapes using a cookie cutter and place the cookies on a greased baking sheet.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes.

3. Shortbread Cookies

Whether you want to give your dog a treat around the holidays or use them as a stocking stuffer, these shortbread holiday pet treats are sure to please your pup.

Ingredients:

• 1 ¼ cups rice flour
• 2 eggs
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 tbsp honey

Directions:

1. Combine the flour, eggs, vegetable oil, and honey in a bowl.
2. Roll the dough onto a clean surface to approximately ¼-inch thickness.
3. Use cookie cutters to cut out the cookies and place them on a greased baking sheet.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F for 15 minutes.

4. Peanut Butter and Oat Biscuits

Your pet certainly won’t turn down these peanut buttery biscuits made with oat flour. If you’re feeling up to it, you can even create a dog-friendly frosting to top them.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups oat flour
• ½ cup peanut butter
• 2 tbsp. molasses
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon

Directions:

1. Combine oat flour, peanut butter, molasses, egg, and ground cinnamon in a bowl.
2. Roll the dough onto a clean surface to approximately ¼-inch thick.
3. Use cookie cutters to cut out shapes and place the biscuits on a greased baking sheet.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes.
5. Optionally: Top the biscuits with frosting made with 4 tbsp. plain yogurt and 3 tbsp. low-fat cream cheese. Drizzle the frosting over the cooled biscuits.

5. Cranberry Christmas Cookies

Cranberries are often associated with the holidays and are often found in many seasonal treats. Your pet will love the sweet taste of cranberries in these tasty Christmas cookies.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• ¼ cup unsweetened applesauce
• 2 tbsp. dried cranberries (finely chopped)
• 3 tbsp. olive oil
• 2 tbsp. honey

Directions:

1. Combine flour, applesauce, cranberries, olive oil, and honey in a bowl.
2. Roll out dough onto a clean surface to approximately ½-inch thick.
3. Cut out shapes with cookie cutters and place cookies on a greased baking sheet.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F for 15 minutes.

6. Snickerdoodle Cookies

Snickerdoodles have long been a Christmas classic. This year, consider making a dog-friendly version for your pet.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups oat flour
• ½ cup water
• ¼ cup honey
• 1 egg
• 2 tsp. ground cinnamon

Directions:

1. Combine the oat flour, water, honey, egg, and ground cinnamon in a bowl.
2. Roll out the dough on a clean surface to approximately ¼-inch thick.
3. Use cookie cutters to cut out your cookies and place them on a greased baking sheet.
4. Bake at 375 degrees F for 12 minutes.

Ingredients to Avoid in Your Holiday Pet Treats

While dogs can eat many of the same foods as humans in moderation, certain ingredients should remain off-limits. Chocolate is extremely toxic for dogs. While common in human holiday treats, pets should never be given chocolate as it is one of the most common causes of dog poisoning.

Other ingredients to avoid include:

• Raisins
• Grapes
• Nuts
• Milk products
• Yeasty doughs
• Rich, fatty foods
• Candy
• Eggnog
• Ham and bacon
• Nutmeg
• Salt
• Sugar

When making DIY holiday treats for your dog, remember to offer them in moderation. Treats should never replace your dog’s meals or act as a primary source of nutrition. Instead, they should be offered as an occasional treat and in small quantities to avoid side effects like gastrointestinal upset.

Celebrate the Holidays with Your Pet with Homemade Holiday Treats

This holiday season, have fun in the kitchen baking tasty holiday treats for your pet. You’ll love that the recipes are simple and healthy, and your pet will enjoy gobbling up every last crumb.