These homemade dog treats are made with just 6 simple, wholesome ingredients and are puppy-tested and approved!

We’ve become that dog couple: constantly taking and sharing pictures of our pup, bringing him up in almost every conversation, and overall treating him like our first child. And we have no shame. What started off as an innocent “we’ll just go look at the puppy,” ended very predictably with our lives taking the next step into being responsible for something other than ourselves. While the first month or two of no sleep, cleaning up accidents, and countless vet visits were a bit rough, this little furball has become an essential member of our little family.

As much as it feels like we’ve had him for years, Bernie turns 1 today! Seeing as he’s a December-baby, I felt that it was only appropriate to treat him to doggy Christmas cookies.

What You Need to Make These

These cookies are super simple to make with just 6 ingredients, at least 5 of which you probably already have in your pantry!

• Canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling!)
• Natural peanut butter (only ingredient should be peanuts and possibly salt)
• Egg
• Canola or melted coconut oil
• Rolled oats
• Baking soda

Because I wanted to make doggy Christmas cookies, I broke out the Christmas cookie cutters. When it isn’t the holidays, you could also use a bone-shaped cookie cutter or just a glass if you want round biscuits.

It says this recipe makes 12-15 cookies, that estimate is using cookie cutters that are on the larger side. If you use small cookie cutters, you’ll want to reduce the cook time. I’d recommend starting to check them around 8 minutes.  

Dog-Friendly Ingredients

While all the ingredients in these cookies are safe for most dogs, that doesn’t account for any allergies that your pup may have.

In addition to being tasty for your pup, these ingredients also provide some health benefits. If your dog has ever had some digestive issues, chances are your vet recommended giving him/her pumpkin. Besides keeping your pup regular, pumpkin is great for eye health, keeping their coats shiny, and may help control some parasites thanks to the compound called cucurbitacin. While there’s only one egg in the recipe, it gives these dog cookies a little protein and healthy fats.

For the peanut butter, make sure there is no xylitol in the ingredients! Xylitol is a “natural” sugar substitute that is extremely poisonous to dogs. I prefer to use a natural peanut butter where the only ingredient is peanuts.

Cookies too soft?

When I first made these cookies, they looked great but they turned out a bit soft (which would be perfect if they were for me to eat). Bernie still loved them, but if you’re hoping for a crunchy biscuit there are two things to try. The first is to make sure your oats are fully pulsed into a flour-consistency. When I first made these I was a bit lazy with pulsing and ended up with a coarse textured flour. Making the flour finer helped to make the dough more solid and firm. The other tip, especially if you’re baking at altitude, is increase your oven temperature by 15-25 degrees F.

If you makes these for your pup, I’d love to see the pictures! Tag @TheHealthyToast_RD on Instagram.

Print Recipe

Homemade Dog Cookies

These homemade dog treats are made with just 6 simple, wholesome ingredients and are puppy-tested and approved!

Prep Time30 mins

Cook Time15 mins

Total Time45 mins

Keyword: Dog-Friendly

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup canned pumpkin not pumpkin pie filling!
• 1/4 cup natural peanut butter just peanuts and possibly salt
• 1 egg
• 2 Tablespoons canola or melted coconut oil
• 1 1/4 cup rolled oats pulsed into a flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• Extra oat flour for rolling out dough can also use unbleached all-purpose flour

Instructions

• In a medium-sized mixing bowl, stir together peanut butter, pumpkin, egg, and oil until well combined. Add oat flour and baking soda and kneed until dough forms a ball (depending on how liquidy your peanut butter is, you may need to add a little extra oat flour if dough is too sticky).
• To prevent spreading, place dough in fridge for 20 minutes to chill. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 F and cover baking sheet with parchment paper or use a baking mat.
• Once dough has chilled, roll out dough on a lightly floured surface. Use cookie cutters to make shaped biscuits, or use a glass to make round cookies.
• Place cookies on baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes, or until slightly browned. Let cool completely and store in fridge or freezer.

Notes

These cookies should last at least a week in the fridge and at least six months in the freezer.

Recipe adapted from Pinch of Yum