December 20th, 2019 by Becky Calvert

Christmas is the perfect opportunity to spoil your dog rotten… even more so than usual! Follow the recipes below to make sure that your furry friend has a lovely Christmas day and enjoys lots of tasty treats. We’re sure they’ll put a smile on your dog’s face this Christmas. 

1. Gingerbread Cookies

Nothing says Christmas more than gingerbread! Follow this easy recipe so that your pooch can have a taste of this festive flavour this Christmas:

Ingredients

250g of treacle

250ml of water

4 tablespoons honey

118ml vegetable oil

1500g 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

Method

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

2. Using a medium-sized bowl, mix the treacle, honey, water and oil.

3. In a large bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and ginger.

4. Slowly start to add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients – taking care to mix them really well.

5. Once combined, divide the balls into 4 balls and wrap each in cling film. You can either place them in the fridge for 3-5 hours or place in the freezer for 1-2 hours (taking care not to let them freeze).

6. Once the dough has become cold, lightly flour your worktop and roll out the dough until its ¼” thick.

7. Now for the fun part! Cut out your dough using festive cookie cutters. Top tip: If you don’t have any cookie cutters, get creative and make your own designs!

8. Place your cookies on an oven tray and bake them for 20-25 minutes (or until golden brown).

9. Leave to cool and then serve them to your pooch – we’re sure they’ll love them!

2. Apple & Mint Dog Bones

Apple and mint are both super festive flavours and ones that we’re sure your pooch will love. Here’s how to make some cute and Christmas-themed biscuits in time for Christmas day:

Ingredients

375g of whole wheat flour

250g of all-purpose flour

125g of old-fashioned rolled oats

80g of oat bran

2 tablespoons dry milk

1 ½ teaspoons dry baking yeast

2 tablespoons chopped spearmint leaves

125g cup applesauce

2 teaspoons green or red powdered food colouring or spinach powder (to get the colour desired)

200ml of water

Method

1. If you have a bread machine, place all of the ingredients inside and put in on a dough cycle.

2. If you don’t separate the wet and the dry ingredients into separate bowls and then slowly combine them. Mix and knead the mixture until a dough is formed.

3. When the dough is ready, roll it into it is ¼” thick.

4. Now for the best bit – grab your bone cookie cutter and start cutting out your doggy treats. Alternatively, use a knife to cut out your own bone shapes, or any other shapes that you wish!

5. Place your biscuits in a preheated oven at 250 degrees for around an hour. Be careful not to let them get too brown!

6. We recommend that you leave your dog bones to cool (preferably overnight) before you feed them to your pooch.

3. Pumpkin & Peanut Butter Treats

What dog doesn’t love peanut butter? It seems to be a firm favourite in the dog community and therefore, these pumpkin and peanut butter treats are sure to put a smile on your dog’s face after their Christmas dinner!

Ingredients

625g of whole wheat flour

2 eggs

125g of canned pumpkin

2 tbsp peanut butter

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

Method

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

2. Start by whisking your flour, eggs, pumpkin, peanut butter, salt and cinnamon in a bowl.

3. Using your hands, mix the ingredients together even more thoroughly until a nice dough is formed – you may want to add a little bit of water at this point.

4. Roll the dough into a ball and lightly flour your work surface. Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough until it’s around ½ inch thick.

5. Using a cookie cutter, cut out the dough into any shape that you wish – the more Christmassy the better!

6. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes (or until hard to the touch).

7. Leave to cool and then let your pooch enjoy!