Easy Gingerbread Dog Treats

Add these easy gingerbread dog treats to your holiday baking and let Fido have a share of all the yummy goodness you're creating!

Packed full of healthy ingredients these dog-friendly gingerbread men are a favorite with my crew at Christmas. To be honest, they're a favorite at ANY time of year and don't save this recipe just for the holidays.

These gingerbread treats look and smell like gingerbread men but they're a lot less sweet than the ones we make for humans to eat. Because they're made from premium, human grade ingredients you CAN eat them if you want to, but be prepared for the fact that they won't taste exactly as you're expecting!

Ingredients List

• 2 1/2 cups wholewheat flour
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup canned pumpkin (NOT pie filling) or pumpkin puree
• 1 tbsp coconut oil (melted)
• 1 tbsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp ground Ceylon cinnamon
• 1/4 cup blackstrap molasses
• 1/4 cup cold water

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 325F
• Mix flour and dry spices together in large bowl
• Melt coconut oil (zap it in the microwave for 20 seconds or so)
• Put molassses, egg, canned pumpkin and coconut oil in small bowl. 
• Mix wet ingredients well using a fork
• Add wet ingredients to flour mixture and stir together until combined
• Add water if needed to allow ingredients to stick together
• Use your hands to form dough and knead for one to two minutes
• Turn dough out onto lightly floured work surface
• Press dough flat with your hands 
• Use floured rolling pin to roll dough out to approx. 1/4" thick
• Use gingerbread man cookie cutter to cut out treats
• Arrange treats on cookie pan (I always use silicone baking mats) to prevent burning/sticking
• Bake at 325F for 25 minutes*
• Remove from oven and allow to cool completely
• Store in airtight container. In pantry for 5 days, refrigerator for up to 10 days.

* If you want your gingerbread dog treats to have a crunchier texture similar to ginger snaps it's easy to do. Simply turn off the oven after 25 minutes, crack the door open and leave the treats inside for an additional hour or until oven is fully cooled.

Substitutions:

You can change this recipe up a little by substituting apple sauce for the pumpkin. 

If you don't have molasses on hand, treacle or honey will work just as well. You could also use maple syrup, but it's not as thick as these other three choices so use 1/8 cup instead.

Molasses adds color and less sweetness than treacle/honey, but your dog will appreciate any of them.