Festive food: Homemade treats for dogs

Posted by Argos, 11 November 2022, last updated 21 November 2022.

Ah, the smells of mulled wine and gingerbread are creeping up on us fast, and as the Christmas season approaches and festivities are in full swing, we want to make sure our four-legged friends are involved too, right? While we all bask in the glory of stocking up our cupboards with festive goods, it’s important to remember that some of the things we indulge in can harm our pets. So, in the spirit of Christmas, we’ve put together some of our favourite homemade Christmas treats for dogs so the full family can enjoy the most wonderful time of the year. Xmas treats for dogs? Yep, you heard us right.

What is a good homemade treat for a dog?

The best treats for dogs are of course anything that involves peanut butter, cheese, meat, or any of their favourite foods. Pack your homemade snacks for dogs with these top favourites and you are guaranteed a wagging tail.

What should you not give your dog at Christmas?

There are many Christmas foods we eat that our dogs can’t, such as nuts, sweets, chocolate and cakes, not forgetting ingredients we cook with such as onions. We all like to have a drink or two at Christmas as well, so it’s important we leave any alcoholic drinks on high surfaces so our dogs can’t reach them. Find out more about which Christmas foods are bad for our pets here.

For our beloved pet’s wellbeing, it’s really important for us to create good and safe treats for dogs this Christmas. Read on for some of our favourite homemade recipes.

Making treats for dogs this Christmas

Oh Christmas treat! Oh Christmas treat! When it comes to homemade dog snacks this festive period, we’re talking pooch friendly Christmas cookies, gingerbread dogs, and of course some peanut butter treats for dogs. We’ve picked out a few of our favourite recipes so you can get stuck into some baking and get your furry friend yapping for more.

Christmas cookies

On the fur-st day of Christmas we bring you Christmas themed cookies. Dog cookies that look like Christmas puddings? Yes, you heard that right. You’ll need a round cookie cutter for these and make sure once they’re done you store them in an airtight container to keep them at their best!

Ingredients:

• 140g self-raising wholemeal flour
• 25g rolled oats
• 100g peanut Butter
• 1 tbsp honey for the cookie, ½ tsp for decoration
• 1 medium egg
• 40ml cold water
• 50g greek yoghurt
• 30 dried cranberries

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 190°C / 170°C fan and line 2 baking trays with baking paper.
2. Mix flour and oats, and then in a separate jug whisk together the peanut butter, honey, egg and water.
3. Form a well in the middle of the flour and pour in the peanut butter mixture, slowly bringing the ingredients together to form a stiff dough.
4. Lightly dust your work surface with flour and roll the dough out to a 4mm thickness.
5. Using a round cutter, cut out as many cookies as you can and place them onto the baking trays ensuring adequate space between each.
6. Pop the cookies into the oven and bake for around 15 minutes until golden brown. Once baked, allow them to cool completely before decorating.
7. While waiting for your cookies to cool, mix the yoghurt and honey, spoon into a small piping bag, and snip the end ready to decorate.
8. To decorate your cookies, pipe a small amount of the yoghurt and honey mixture at the top of the cookie to resemble the sauce on top of a Christmas pudding. To top it off, add a dried cranberry and voila! You have delicious doggy Christmas cookies.

Gingerbread dogs

Santa paws is coming to town and will give you a real good treat with these gingerbread men, no sorry, gingerbread dogs. To make these you’ll need a bunch of yummy ingredients and a dog shaped biscuit cutter to get the intended doggy shape.

Ingredients:

• 4 tbsp. raw honey
• 1 cup molasses
• 6 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 cup water
• ½ cup vegetable oil
• 1 tsp. ground cloves
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 2 tbsp. fresh shaved ginger

Method:

1. In one bowl, mix the honey, molasses, oil and water. In a second bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, cloves, cinnamon, and ginger.
2. Now pour everything from the second bowl (your dry ingredients) into the first and mix to make a dough.
3. Once your dough is made, separate it into quarters, wrap with clingfilm and pop in the fridge to chill.
4. While waiting for the dough to chill, preheat your oven to 180°c and line a baking tray with baking paper.
5. Now your dough is chilled, roll it out to around a 4mm thickness and use your doggy shaped cutters to cut your biscuits.
6. Bake in the over for 25 minutes until nice and golden and leave to cool.
7. Once your biscuits have cooled, decorate as you please. The more Christmassy the better!

Peanut butter pups

We woof you a very merry Christmas with these peanut butter treats for dogs. A real treat that will get your furry friends indulging in the festivities too. We all know dogs can’t eat chocolate so the main thing you need to note on this one is to swap the chocolate out with carob chips. And better yet… it’s only a 3-ingredient recipe. So, let’s get to it.

Ingredients:

• ½ cup of carob chips
• 1 tbsp coconut oil
• 1/3 cup of peanut butter

Method:

1. In a microwave-safe bowly, heat coconut oil and carob chips. Make sure to heat these 20 seconds at a time as they can burn quite fast.
2. Arrange the mini cupcake liners on a tray and spoon out half the carob mix into each of them, making sure the sides are coated as well as the bottom. Pop the tray into the freezer so they begin to harden.
3. Now heat your peanut butter, again in a microwave-safe bowl for 20 seconds at a time, until almost liquefied.
4. Remove cupcake liners from the freezer and spoon the peanut butter into the middle of each coated cup. Now pop them back in the freezer to harden again. Once hardened move to step 5.
5. Now back to the carob mix (you may need to heat this mixture again if it has hardened). Spoon the remainder of the mixture on top of the peanut butter, making sure it’s fully covered. Again, pop back into the freezer for them to harden. Once hardened they are ready.

If your pooch has been furry good this year, make them some festive treats and get them involved in the family fun. But remember, keep them away from your favourite foods this Christmas.

Christmas fun is for all the family. But remember it’s important to protect yourself from unexpected vet bills, should your pooch come to any harm, with Argos Pet Insurance provided by Pinnacle Insurance plc. Explore our dog insurance policies today.