Valentine Cookies for your Dog

Homemade holiday cookies are fun to make. They are great gifts too!

And, if you are especially adventurous, you can decorate your dog valentine cookies with dog treat icing or just leave the cookies natural.

This dog cookie recipe uses carob powder, which is a safe substitute for chocolate. Most dogs adore chocolate, but chocolate can be deadly for dogs.

If you want to make a “chocolate” dog treat, make sure you use carob in place of cocoa or chocolate.

Carob, used as a chocolate substitute, has a sweet taste, and it is almost indistinguishable from chocolate. And, best of all, dogs love carob, too!

Holiday dog treats decorated with yogurt coating
and a sprinkling of red colored sugar

Ingredients for Valentine Dog Cookies

• 1 cup water
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil (I use canola)
• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 cup white flour, unbleached
• 1/2 cup wheat bran or oat bran
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dry yeast
• 1/4 cup carob powder

Directions for Valentine Holiday Cookies

• Combine vegetable oil and water in a small bowl.

• In another, larger bowl, mix together all the dry ingredients.

• Using your mixer (with a cookie beater or bread hook), combine all the ingredients and mix until they are thoroughly combined. You will end up with a nice compact ball of dough.

• Cover the mixing bowl with a clean dish towel or plastic wrap and set it in a warm place away from drafts.

• Let the dough rise until it is doubled—it will actually be twice as big. You can tell that it has doubled when you gently punch a little hole in the dough and it doesn't bounce back. The hole, or indentation stays.

• Roll the dough (with a rolling pin on a cutting board that has been sprinkled with flour) to a 1/4” thickness.

• Cut the Valentine cookies into the shapes that you would like to use, using cookie cutters.

• Place the dog cookies on a lightly greased cookie sheet.

• Bake the holiday dog cookies at 275 degrees F for 1 hour. You may have to adjust the time (and check the cookies frequently), depending on the size of the dog cookies that you make.

• Turn off the oven, and let the Valentine dog cookies finish drying overnight in the oven. They will be hard and crisp when they are done.

• If you would like to decorate the dog cookies, you will find some dog treat icing recipes here.

• If you use dog treat frosting, you can sprinkle the top of your dog cookies with colored sugar, soy or bacon bits, chopped peanuts or other healthy dog treat ingredients.

Make sure you look for my other dog cookie recipes that can be adapted to make holiday cookies for your dog!

Valentine Cookies to Holiday Dog Treats

Valentine Cookies to Best Dog Treats

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