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Homemade Pumpkin Dog Treats
September 13, 2017
Next time you’re enjoying a pumpkin-flavored treat, save a cup of plain pumpkin puree and whip up a batch of these easy homemade pumpkin dog treats for your tail-wagging friends. Pumpkin is loaded with antioxidants, vitamins and fiber and it’s low-calorie, to boot. Combined with almond meal (also sold as almond flour) and coconut flour, it makes a tasty, slightly sweet, vegan, gluten-free dog treat that your dog is sure to love. Plus you’ll love the fact that these pumpkin dog treats are packed full of nutrition.
The recipe below is also a good starting place for creating your own recipes, based on what you have on hand and what flavors your dog likes. Try replacing the canned pumpkin with mashed sweet potato or mashed winter squash, if that’s what you have. You can also replace some or all of the almond meal and/or coconut flour with an all-purpose gluten-free flour blend.
Resist the urge to add spices or sweeteners. These pumpkin dog treats may taste rather plain to your palate, but your dog will love them, and some sweeteners and spices are actually dangerous to dogs (xylitol and cinnamon are two big no-no’s for dogs).
Check out Homemade Dog Treats for a list of other dog-friendly ingredients and also for a list of ingredients that are dangerous for dogs to make sure you aren’t adding something that could make your furry friend ill.
Once you have your dough rolled out, you can either cut it into squares and rectangles, or you can use a cookie cutter to cut circles or shapes.
You can use a dull knife to press an “X” about one-sixteenth of an inch into the top of each biscuit to make it easy to snap it into tiny bits for training-reward treats.
You can also press any other pattern you like into the surface before baking. Try making paw prints with the tips of a chopstick, using the large end to make the central pad and the small end to make the toes.
Have fun creating some easy, healthy treats your pet is sure to enjoy!
Homemade Pumpkin Dog Treats
Ingredients:
- 1 ½ cups almond meal (also sold as almond flour)
- ½ cup coconut flour
- 1 cup canned pumpkin (plain)
- water or broth, as needed
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 225°F.
- Line two cookie sheets with silicon mats or parchment paper.
- Combine the first three ingredients in a bowl and mix well.
- Squeeze a handful and if it holds together in a ball, you are good to go. If it crumbles rather than holding together; add water or broth, a little at a time, until it does hold together when squeezed.
- Roll or pat the dough to make a slab about quarter-inch thick. Work on a silicone mat (or place the dough between two sheets of waxed paper) to keep it from sticking to your hands or rolling pin.
- Cut the dough into shapes: squares or rectangles are the quickest, but you can also use a cookie cutter (simple shapes are best), or a small drinking glass to cut circles (press it down firmly, then twist it before lifting it away from the dough, and the disk will usually stay on the rolling surface).
- Carefully place each shape onto your prepared cookie sheets; these treats don’t spread as they bake, so they can be almost touching each other.
- If you like you can use a dull knife to press an "X" about 1/16th of an inch into the top of each biscuit to make it easy to snap it into tiny bits for training-reward treats.
- You can also press any other pattern you like into the surface before baking: try making paw prints with the tips of a chopstick, using the large end to make the central pad and the small end to make the toes.
- Bake for 50 minutes or a little less if the edges start turning dark.
- Remove from the oven and let the biscuits cool on the baking pans.
- Store the cooled, finished biscuits in an airtight jar.