Gingerbread Dog Treats are a tasty snack for your furry friend. These homemade gingerbread cookies for dogs are made with simple dog-safe ingredients.
If your puppy is allergic to peanut butter, then these cute gingerbread men are a great idea for them!
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- Why These Gingerbread Treats for Dogs Are the Best
- Benefits of Ginger for Dogs
- Ingredients
- Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
- Equipment Needed
- How to Make Gingerbread Dog Treats
- Serving Size
- How to Store and How Long They Last
- Can people eat these gingerbread dog treats?
- Popular Homemade Dog Treat Recipes
- Gingerbread Dog Treats
Why These Gingerbread Treats for Dogs Are the Best
Your dog is going to love these gingerbread biscuits! The holiday season is the perfect time of year to start making a bunch of gingerbread recipes.
You probably already have all the ingredients needed to make these ginger treats. Yep, I used pantry staples to make this dog treat recipe.
These homemade gingerbread dog treats are made with healthy and dog safe ingredients. Regular gingerbread cookies may have the following ingredients that are unhealthy or toxic to dogs:
- Brown or Granulated Sugar can cause bad teeth, weight issues, and diabetes.
- Canola and Vegetable Oil are inflammatory oils for both people and dogs.
- Nutmeg is toxic to dogs.
That’s why I enjoy making homemade dog treats so much. I know my furry friends are eating nutritious food – you never know what’s in the goodies from the store.
Homemade ginger biscuits have no artificial ingredients or added sugar.
The baked dog treats recipe with nutritional information is just a little further below. First, here’s more about the main ingredient:
Benefits of Ginger for Dogs
They aren’t just tasty, these homemade dog biscuits are good for your dog too! Find out more in my article about ginger and dogs.
Ginger Dog Treats for Motion Sickness
If your dog gets sick in the car, homemade treats with ginger could calm their tummies. Ginger is a natural home remedy for nausea.
Is cinnamon safe for dogs?
There is a general misunderstanding about dogs and cinnamon. Cinnamon is not toxic and safe for dogs in small quantities. This recipe only has 1 teaspoon of cinnamon which is fine because there is only a small amount in each treat.
Cinnamon is harmful to dogs if consumed in large quantities. If dogs eat a full teaspoon or more of cinnamon at one time or chew on a cinnamon stick, they could experience irritation in their mouth or digestive system.
Cinnamon essential oil is toxic and should not be applied to a dog’s skin or used in a diffuser. See my guide on diffuser essential oils toxic and safe for dogs.
Ingredients
The exact ingredient amounts and step-by-step directions are in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this article. First, I want to share some information about the ingredients I used in these ginger dog treats.
Here’s a list of what you need to make gingerbread man dog treats – just a few simple ingredients! Use organic ingredients if you want to make organic dog treats.
- Oat Flour – made with uncooked old-fashioned rolled oats.
- White or Brown Rice Flour – use white for treats that are light brown in color.
- Egg – Binds all ingredients together and is an excellent protein and omega-3 fatty acids source.
- Coconut Oil – Healthy fat with essential fatty acids (medium chain fatty acids).
- Water – to add moisture to the dough.
- Ground Ginger – For flavor
- Ground Cinnamon – Adds a bit of spice and aroma
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
When making homemade gingerbread dog biscuits, there are a few things to know:
Do not use nutmeg because it is toxic to dogs. It contains the toxin myristicin which can cause increased heart rate, high blood pressure, hallucinations, seizures, abdominal pain, and dry mouth.
You can use olive oil instead of coconut oil. Extra-light or light olive oil does not have as strong of a flavor as regular or extra-virgin.
If you want these treats to have a little sweetness, you can add 1 or 2 tablespoons of blackstrap molasses.
I used oat flour and rice flour instead of whole wheat flour because both are naturally gluten free flour.
Can’t find oat flour at the store? Just put old-fashioned oats in the bowl of a food processor or blender and process until the ground oats have the consistency of flour. Likewise for rice flour.
You can use coconut flour, but you will need to increase the amount of water or the dough will be too dry. Coconut flour absorbs much more liquid than other types of flour.
You can use all-purpose flour or a 50-50 combination of all-purpose and whole wheat flour for the oat or rice flour. The amount will have to be adjusted since those flours will cause the dough to have a different consistency. It will take less of those flours than oat flour. Because whole wheat flour is denser, it’s not a good substitute to use by itself.
Equipment Needed
You probably have most of the kitchen items you need to make these ginger dog biscuits. You can use any cookie shape cutter, but cookie cutters shaped like dog bones or paws give these treats cute shapes.
- Measuring Cups
- Large Bowl
- Rolling Pin
- Parchment Paper or Silicone Baking Mat
- Cookie Cutters for Dog Treats
- Baking Sheet
You can use a biscuit cutter or a pizza wheel if you don’t have cookie cutters.
How to Make Gingerbread Dog Treats
These are the recipe steps and some photos of the process for making the treats. I hope they help you make this healthy gingerbread dog treat recipe!
You can scroll down to the bottom of this article for a printable recipe card.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- In a food processor or blender, pulse uncooked oatmeal until it becomes flour.
- Place oat flour, rice flour, ginger, and cinnamon in a large bowl. Stir or whisk to combine the flour mixture.
- Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients.
- Mix until well combined and a dough forms. If the dough is too dry, add a little water until it reaches the desired consistency.
- Place the dough ball on a lightly floured surface.
- Roll the dough out with a rolling pin to about ¼ to ½ inch thickness, according to your preference.
- Cut out the dog treats with cookie cutters.
- Place the cutouts on a baking sheet lined with a silicone mat or parchment paper.
- Place cutout cookies in the oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until they have a golden brown color.
- Transfer the baked treats to a wire rack to cool to room temperature.
This recipe made 36 treats using assorted cutters. Cutters of different shapes and sizes will yield more or less treats.
Serving Size
How many homemade dog treats should you give your dog at once? That depends on what else you gave your pet to eat that day. This might be a healthier treat, but it is still a treat.
Treats should not make up the bulk of your dog’s calorie intake. They should be something eaten on rare occasions, along with healthy dog food.
Dogs shouldn’t eat too many carbs – even healthy treats made with oat and rice flour. For this reason, I suggest only giving your spoiled hound one treat daily.
How to Store and How Long They Last
To preserve freshness, store homemade gingerbread dog treats in an airtight container or plastic bag at room temperature. They will last up to 7 days.
You can freeze them for up to 4 months for extended storage.
Can people eat these gingerbread dog treats?
Yep, people can eat these gingerbread dog cookies. All of the ingredients are safe for human consumption. However, I doubt folks would enjoy them since they are not sweet.
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Popular Homemade Dog Treat Recipes
Want to make more treats for your dog? Here are some tasty dog treats to make:
- Apple Carrot Dog Treats
- Christmas Dog Treats
- Coconut Dog Treats
- Cranberry Dog Treats
- Peanut Butter Dog Cookies
- Pear Dog Treats
- Pumpkin Pie for Dogs
Find more easy dog treat recipes here on Spoiled Hounds!
Gingerbread Dog Treats
Ingredients
- 2 cups Uncooked Old-Fashioned Rolled Oats
- 1 cup Brown Rice Flour
- 1 Egg
- ¼ cup Melted Coconut Oil
- ½ cup Water
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- In a blender or food processor, pulse oatmeal until it becomes a flour.
- In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients.
- Add wet ingredients and mix until well combined.
- Place the dough on a lightly floured surface.
- With a rolling pin, roll the dough out to about ¼ to ½ inch thickness, according to your preference.
- Using a cookie cutter, cut out the dog treats and place them on a non-stick baking sheet or use a silicone mat or parchment paper to cover the baking sheet.
- Bake for 20 to 25 minutes.
- Transfer the baked treats to a wire rack to cool to room temperature.
I’m looking at the gingerbread dog treats. They look great and gathering ingredients. What can I use to substitute white for brown rice flour.
Also, when making oat flour from oats – does 1 cup of oats = 1 cup of oat flour.
Thanks – can’t wait to try a couple of the treats!
If your dog doesn’t have a wheat allergy, you can use regular all-purpose flour for the brown rice flour. Another option is white rice flour.
When making the oat flour 1 cup of oats makes about 1 cup of oat flour. You may want to grind a little more, about 1.25 cups of oats, just to be sure to get 1 cup of flour.