Spoil your puppies this holiday season with this easy homemade Gingerbread Dog Treats recipe. It is made with just six ingredients and will come together in just a jiffy.
Our very first dog, Lily, was allergic to everything, so it gave me a reason to bake for her so I can control the ingredients in her dog biscuits. I haven’t made dog treats for a long time now since our current furry friend will eat just about anything and will even steal from the kids when we’re not watching… She really doesn’t need treats.
But these Gingerbread Dog Treats were so much fun to make. And I just love how festive they are. If you enjoy baking for your dogs, make these because I guarantee your dogs will enjoy devouring them!
Table of Contents
Why you’ll love this recipe
- Easy to make – you can mix up the dough for these gingerbread dog treats with just a mixing bowl, whisk and spatula. There is no need for a stand mixer or a food processor. It is super easy and quick! The recipe is also very forgiving and you can easily adjust it.
- Fun to feed your dogs! We have all the festive and delicious cookies and treats for the holiday season, there’s no reason why our dogs can’t have a special treat too. These gingerbread treats for dogs are super fun and totally festive.
Tools you’ll need
You don’t need any special equipment to make these gingerbread dog treats. The dough can be made by hand easily. You’ll just need a rolling pin to roll out the dough and a few cookie cutters to cut out cute shapes.
Ingredients and substitutions
As always, you’ll find the complete list of ingredients and quantities in the recipe card at the end of this post. Below are some notes and substitution tips:
- Eggs – two whole eggs.
- Oil – any type of oil you have will work. I typically use vegetable, canola or olive oil.
- Molasses – just a small amount to add to the flavor, it won’t make these treats sweet.
- Gluten free flour – I use Bob’s Red Mill gluten free flour which should be good for wheat sensitive pups. A good substitute would be oat flour, or you could ground up rolled oats in your food processor.
- Spices – just ginger and cinnamon. DO NOT use gingerbread spice which contains nutmeg, clove and allspice. Nutmeg is toxic for dogs. Clove and allspice contain a compound called eugenol, which is toxic for cats, but may also put dogs at risk. However, ginger and cinnamon are safe for dogs.
How to make gingerbread dog treats
The following instructions, step-by-step photos, and tips are here to help you visualize how to make the recipe. You can always skip straight to the printable recipe card at the end of this post.
Add the wet ingredients – 2 whole eggs, molasses and oil – to a mixing bowl and beat with a whisk until combined.
In another mixing bowl, mix together the dry ingredients – gluten free flour and your spices. Then add the mixture to the wet ingredients.
Fold until a dough forms. It should have consistency somewhere in between pie dough and bread dough.
Sprinkle some gluten free flour on your countertop and roll the dough out to ¼” thick. Cut with small cookie cutters into bone shape and gingerbread man shape, about 1.5″ to 2″ in size.
Bake on an unlined baking sheet at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees Fahrenheit, flip the cookies, and bake for another 30 minutes. You’ll want to dry them out completely so they are crunchy and can last a long time.
More baker’s tips
- You can use regular wheat flour – If your dogs are not wheat sensitive, feel free to substitute whole wheat or all-purpose flour. I’ve made my dogs treats from all kind of different flours before so I know they all work well.
- Do you need grain free? If you’re looking for a completely grain free alternative, try coconut flour.
- Adjust the amount of flour as needed – You may want to start with 1 cup of flour and increase as needed if using a different type of flour for this gingerbread dog treats recipe.
Storage
You can store these gingerbread treats for your dogs in a clean jar or an airtight container. They will last about 2 weeks at room temperature, up to 2 months in the refrigerator and up to 8 months in the freezer.
More gluten free dog treats
- Pineapple Dog Treats
- Peanut Butter Apple Oatmeal Dog Treats
- Fishy Dog Treats
- Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Dog Treats
- Sweet Potato Dog Treats
Hungry for more?
Gingerbread Dog Treats
Ingredients
- 2 eggs
- 2 tablespoon oil (25 g)
- 1 tablespoon molasses (21 g)
- 1 ¼ cup gluten free flour (170 g)
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ginger
- More flour for rolling
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Add eggs, oil and molasses to a medium mixing bowl and beat until combined.
- Mix together gluten free flour and spices in a smaller mixing bowl until evenly distributed. Fold the flour mixture into the wet ingredients until a dough forms.
- Flour the counter or a large cutting board, roll the dough out to about ¼” thick. Cut into shapes with cookie cutters. Reroll the scraps and continue cutting into shapes.
- Place cookies on a baking sheet between ½” to 1” apart. Bake for 20 minutes. Rotate pan, flip cookies, reduce oven temperature to 300°F and bake for another 30 minutes.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool completely on a wire rack. Store in an airtight containers for up to two weeks.
Notes
- You can use a different type of flour for this recipe depending on your needs.
- Adjust the amount of flour as needed to get the right consistency for the dough.
Nutrition
This post may contain affiliate links. For more details on how we utilize affiliates, ads, and sponsored content, see our full disclosure policy. Thank you for your continued support, which enables us to keep bringing you delicious recipes, at no extra cost to you.
My poor little puppa has Kennel cough & I’ve made these to help settle his tummy as he’s been being sick all day. He and his sister absolutely love these & have had two each already. Thank you so much for the recipe 😊 I needed to add just a little water to make it stick for rolling and will definitely make these again. I’ve shared you recipe already too!
Awe poor thing… hope he feels better soon!
I have a pretty big gingerbread cookie cutter: 7 1/2 inches!
Do you think this would change my cooking time or oven temp?
That cookie cutter is pretty huge, I would bake it longer at lower temperature. Try 325F for 30 mins + 300F for 30 mins. You just want to make sure it’s cooked through and have some color in the end.
The recipe is too runny, you need a total of 2 cups of flour for proper consistency.
Sorry the recipe didn’t turn out the way you expected but if you use regular flour or a different type of gluten free flour, there could be differences in the flour itself that could cause inconsistency in the recipe. I’d appreciate it if you could leave a feedback on what type of flour you use, it could be helpful to others in the future.
Awww these are too cute. I know how you miss Lily, I miss my cat Cosmo like that and our other cat was so lonely when he passed away. I need to make these for my pup though.
This is adorable!
Easier than making people cookies. I used brown rice flour and I didn’t need a roller, I just flattened it with a tablespoon. Also, if you use brown rice flour, baking at 350 for 20 minutes is plenty of time, I wouldn’t bake them any longer than that.
Thank you very much for this recipe. The Gingerbread Dog Treats don’t have any harmful ingredients in them. I so appreciate that. My girls have allergies too. You are a great dog Mommy!
Thank you Elaine, I hope your girls love them 🙂