Homemade Dog Cookies

Six ingredient dog cookies for your four-legged friends.

I recently shared this Pumpkin Dog Treat recipe over on Spend with Pennies.

Leia’s favorite thing to do is play tug.  She has a 3-foot long knotted rope that she loves to carry around and drop at my feet, begging me to play with her.

A little while ago, though, I tore something in my right shoulder (believed to be a labral tear), and so I haven’t been able to tug with her in weeks.

It makes me feel like pretty much the worst pet owner in existence.

I have absolutely no way of explaining to her that I can’t tug, because her 80-pound, head-flinging self will completely destroy my shoulder (especially since, as soon as we start tugging, Penny joins in, too).  So every evening when I get home from work, over and over again, she carries the rope to me, drops it at my feet, and cries.  Then, when I don’t oblige, she’ll pick it up, drop it even closer, stare at me, and cry some more.

It’s pretty pathetic and it makes me feel terrible.

Zach tries to make up for it by playing with her, but it doesn’t really make me feel any better about ignoring her constant pleading.

Until my shoulder gets completely better (which I don’t think is going to be for a while), tugging (and playing fetch!) are off limits, so I try to entertain her in other ways, which has mostly consisted of teaching her tricks and making her cookies.

I’ve made dog cookies here before, but these are a slightly different, crunchier, non-frosted version, and recently this recipe has been my go-to.  Made with peanut butter (Leia comes running when I open the peanut butter jar) and pumpkin and just a handful of other basic ingredients, they’re simple to make, and spoiling her with cookies makes me feel a little bit better about not being able to play tug.

I hope your furry companions enjoy this recipe as much as mine do.

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Homemade Dog Cookies

Easy 6-ingredient cookies for your four-legged friends.

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 35 minutes

Servings 24 cookies (or 48 small)

Author Samantha Merritt

Ingredients

• ¾ cup pumpkin puree
• ½ cup creamy peanut butter*
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• ½ teaspoon baking powder

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375F and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl using an electric mixer, stir together pumpkin, peanut butter, and egg yolk until completely combined.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together flours and baking powder.
4. Gradually add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture until completely combined (dough will be quite dry).
5. Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and roll out to approximately ¼" thickness.
6. Use cookie cutters to cut shapes out of dough and transfer cutout cookies to prepared cookie sheet, placing at least 1" apart.
7. Re-combine any dough scraps and re-roll and then cut out to use all of your dough.
8. Bake cookies on 375F for 20 minutes for small cookies and 25 minutes for large cookies.
9. Allow to cool completely before sharing with your pet.
10. Keep uneaten cookies in an airtight container for up to two weeks.

Recipe Notes

*Please double check the ingredients to ensure that the peanut butter does not contain xylitol, which can be toxic to dogs. Most peanut butters do not contain this, but always double-check the ingredient list just to be safe. Just as a precaution, also please be aware of any allergies your dog may have before feeding, it can't hurt to check with a vet first!

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