Holiday Dog Treats: Get Festive This Holiday Season

’Tis the season! While you’re decking the halls and making Christmas cookies for the family, you may find some cute puppy dog eyes at your feet begging for a treat. While human cookies are out of the question for your dog, it doesn’t mean you can’t make something special for them. And we all know giving your pup the gift of homemade dog treats for Christmas is something they’ll wag their tail about all season.

There are plenty of ways to make tasty and easy dog Christmas treats. We’ll cover the basics — like what ingredients you can use for dog-friendly treats — and give you some inspiration with fun recipes!

The Basics: Ingredients You’ll Need

As we know, not all baking ingredients are dog-safe. When giving your dog treats, it’s important to be mindful of their diet and caloric intake, as well as feeding them ingredients that are good for them. As a general rule of thumb, recipes are best suited for dogs when they include fruits and veggies (with some exceptions), meats, and other goodies that can provide your dog with optimal nutrition without additives. This list isn’t exhaustive, but it covers everything you’ll need for the recipes below.

• Dog-safe flour (whole wheat flour, almond flour, oat flour, coconut flour, etc.)
• Eggs
• Honey
• Peanut butter (make sure it’s xylitol-free)
• Flaxseed
• Oats
• Fruit (cranberries, apples, etc.) 
• Coconut oil
• Optional: turmeric, cinnamon

Classic Dog Biscuits Recipe

Prep time: 25 minutes

Cook time: 18 minutes

The tried-and-true dog biscuit shaped like a cute little bone is the best way to serve up a Christmas treat with your furry friend.³ This recipe is easy and dog-friendly: the best of both worlds!

Ingredients

• 2 ½ cups of dog-safe flour
• 1 egg
• 1 cup peanut butter
• 1 cup water
• 2 tablespoons honey

How to make classic dog biscuits

This recipe is just about as easy as it gets, but it does require a bone-shaped cookie cutter.

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, and add flour and 1 egg to a bowl. Mix together.
2. Slowly mix in the peanut butter, water, and honey until you create a dough. Then, roll out your dough and use a bone-shaped cookie cutter!
3. Once your oven is up to temperature, bake for about 18 minutes. Wait until they cool and then give to your good girl or boy along with plenty of belly rubs!
4. Optional: If you want to spice it up with some frosting, heat up some peanut butter and honey to drizzle on top of the treats. If you don’t have honey, you can safely swap out this sweetener with pure maple syrup (please check the syrup bottle to make sure it doesn’t contain xylitol, as it’s toxic to dogs). The result? Adorable cookies your dog (and your family) can snack on!

Cranberry Sauce Cookies Recipe

Prep time: 25 minutes

Cook time: 18 minutes

We all know it can be hard to not sneak our pups some Thanksgiving and Christmas goodies from the table. This homemade recipe is completely safe for dogs, so you don’t have to double check the ingredients on the back of a can or box!⁴

Ingredients

• 1 cup whole-wheat flour
• 1 cup oats
• 1 cup fresh cranberries
• ½ cup plain, fat-free Greek yogurt
• ¼ cup ground flaxseed
• 3 tablespoons water
• 1 tablespoon honey

How to make cranberry sauce cookies

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. While you wait, blend ⅔ cup of oats in a blender or food processor.
2. Separately, heat fresh cranberries over medium-low heat on the stove until soft.
3. Mix the cranberries and oats together (including the oats you didn’t blend), then combine the rest of your ingredients until a dough forms.
4. Roll the dough into balls to put on a baking sheet, and bake for 18 minutes.

Your dog will drool over this fruity and sweet cookie! The best part? It’s human-safe, too, so you can sneak a bite if you really want to.

No-Bake Dog Bites Recipe

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 0 minutes

Looking for something that doesn’t require you to use your oven? You’re in luck! These two-ingredient bites are the perfect option to free up space in your oven for all the human treats you’ll be making this Christmas. Dog treats like this one are simple enough to prep in 5 minutes or less.⁵

Ingredients

• ½ cup coconut oil
•  ½ cup peanut butter
• Optional: turmeric, cinnamon

How to make no-bake dog bites

All this one takes is a microwave!

1. Combine coconut oil, peanut butter, and any desired added dog-safe ingredients into a microwave safe bowl and heat for a minute or less, depending on your microwave wattage.
2. Stir to combine melted ingredients and pour into fun Christmas-themed molds.
3. Freeze for 25 minutes to an hour, remove the treats from the molds, and then serve to your pup.

These treats can be safely stored in the freezer — so long as your dog doesn’t eat them all first!

All Good Things in Moderation

While it may be tempting to give your dog all the goodies you’ve made for them, it’s important to remember that treats shouldn’t be more than 10% of your dog’s daily caloric intake. Don’t forget to monitor your dog each time you introduce a new food to be sure they don’t have an adverse reaction. Accidents happen, and it’s important to have peace of mind in the event of an emergency. A MetLife dog insurance policy can protect you from unexpected vet costs in the event that your dog eats something they shouldn’t or has a reaction to food. Get a quote today to see if dog insurance fits into your lifestyle.