My mom “stole” my 8-year-old daughter one snowy day recently and baked up a surprise for their doggie, Gracie, and some other pooch friends. What a fun project to do with kids for a Valentine’s Day surprise for the furry pets and their owners in your life. Hey, and it’s even made with all “real food” ingredients. Sweet!
My granddaughter, Hannah, and I needed a project for a cold winter day. So, we decided to create Valentine treats for our dog friends. Part of the reason for this activity was to use up ingredients I had on hand. In my cupboard was old crunchy peanut butter that didn’t make the grandkid test, an abundance of wheat flour, and some extra eggs from taking care of my neighbors chickens. In the freezer I had zip lock baggies full of left over processed pumpkin from Halloween. Everything came together to create a fun afternoon and do something nice for our neighbors. 
Hannah helped me mix the ingredients. We beat the eggs, oil, pumpkin, and peanut butter together with a hand mixer. Then we added the wheat flour and baking soda. To our delight, a soft play dough-like mixture formed. For some reason it wasn’t sticky like cookie dough or bread dough. I guess the lack of stickiness was because there was no sugar in the mix and there was quite a bit of oil. It rolled easily and eventually became just as easy to press with our hands to be flat enough to cut out shapes. Hannah was the one who noted it was “play dough”.
We started cutting with some dog bone shapes. As we continued we discovered it was fun to use other cookie cutters to make “people treats” and “dog” treats. Some treats were just “cookies” made from squashed round balls. Each biscuit got painted with a light coating of egg glaze. Some of the treats even got oat sprinkles to look more festive. Others were rolled in wheat flour to look like they were coated with powdered sugar.
Each batch was set on parchment paper on cookie sheet and then went in the oven for 15 minutes. It didn’t seem to matter if the treat was thick or thin, it got done without burning. I even forgot to remove one batch and left it in for a good 20 minutes, and it still didn’t burn on the bottom. Our dog, Gracie, didn’t seem to mind the crispier treats. As you can see in the picture, she was really interested in Hannah’s creations.
Of note, the treats weren’t perfect like the ones in all the Pinterest listings. Ours were a product of a creative afternoon and had the flaws of real life. Still, we were proud of our creations.
We finished the project by creating decorative bags for each of the dogs on our list. Then we made sure they received their special treats.
Just like a typical Thriving Home project, we included a baggie full of treats for the freezer to thaw later for our dog, Gracie.
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Healthy Dog Treats is the perfect gift for furry friends and their owners on Valentine’s Day or any day!
Ingredients
Biscuits:
- 1 cup pumpkin
- ½ cup crunchy peanut butter
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup oil
- 2 ½ cups whole wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
Glaze:
- 3 egg yolks
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. Cover a sheet pan with parchment paper.
- Combine pumpkin, peanut butter, eggs, and oil in a large mixing bowl. Mix well. Add in whole wheat flour and baking soda. Stir until dough forms.
- Roll out the dough on floured surface. Use cookie cutters to cut out desired shapes and place on the sheet pan.
- Whisk the egg yolks. Brush yolk onto tops of uncooked treats to create a glaze.
- Bake for 15 minutes. Let cool and then place in air-tight bags or containers.
Notes
Freezer Meal Instructions:
To Freeze:
Completely cook and cool. Then, store in a freezer bag or container.
To Prepare:
Thaw on the counter before giving to your doggie.
How sweet! I bet your dog-owning friends were thrilled (and the furry recipients too!) The homemade gift wrap added the perfect touch!
★★★★★
The treats were a big hit. However, the best part was spending time with my granddaughter making them.