Every family has their own special holiday traditions. For us, one of our personal favorites is baking on Christmas Eve. For every Christmas as long as I can remember, our family has come together to create festive concoctions like cinnamon monkey bread (my personal childhood favorite), decorated sugar cookies, and my grandmother’s famous snickerdoodle cookies for Santa. 

Since adding Lady to the bunch, I’ve started a new tradition of baking a quick homemade treat for her to enjoy during the holidays. After scavenging the internet for some baking inspiration, I’ve collected my five favorite recipes for healthy dog treats for Christmas, and I couldn’t wait to share them with you! 

Include your pups in your holiday celebration or give the ultimate dog treats as Christmas gifts with these fun and festive recipes! 

Pawsitively Tasty and Healthy Dog Treats for Christmas

1. Peanut Butter & Ginger Snap Cookies from Pretty Fluffy

Ginger snaps are synonymous with the holidays, and thanks to this awesome Pretty Fluffy recipe, your dogs can indulge in the wintertime staple treat with you! 

This healthy, grain-free Christmas dog treats are made using fresh ginger, natural peanut butter, a dash of cinnamon, and other beneficial human ingredients. Once your pup gets a taste, they’ll be begging for more! 

Ingredients

• 2 Cups Almond Flour
• 1/2 Cup Coconut Flour
• 1/2 – 3/4 Cup Natural Peanut Butter
• 3 Tablespoons Ground Ginger
• 1 Tablespoon Cinnamon
• 1/4 Cup Water

Directions

• Preheat oven to 330 degrees F.
• Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl and form a ball with the dough.
• Roll the dough out until flat and use a cookie cutter to cut out the individual treats. I didn’t have a miniature cookie cutter on hand, so I just used a jar cap as a makeshift cutter. Feel free to get creative!
• Place your treats onto your baking tray and bake for 25 minutes.
• Turn oven off after the 25 minutes  and leave the treats in the oven for 45 more minutes, or until crisp.

View the full recipe here! 

2. Christmas Cookie Dog Biscuits From Proud Dog Mom 

Nothing says Christmas quite like some freshly baked cookies! While you and your family are prepping cookies for Santa and your loved ones, don’t forget to whip up a quick batch of these healthy dog treats for Christmas that I found while exploring Proud Dog Mom. 

Ingredients 

• 2 1/2 cups oat flour
• 1 cup finely ground almond flour
• 4 large strawberries, diced
• 4 fresh mint leaves, finely chopped
• 1/3 cup pure pumpkin puree
• 1/3 cup water
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil

Directions 

• Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, mix all dry ingredients together.
• In a separate bowl, mix all wet ingredients together.
• Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and thoroughly combine. Mix with a spoon or fork.
• With your hands, knead dough for several minutes, eventually forming a dough ball.
• Let dough rest for about 10-15 minutes in the freezer before rolling flat.
• Sandwich dough ball between two sheets of parchment paper and roll flat (about 1/4” thick) with a rolling pin.
• Using a cookie cutter, stamp out biscuits (if desired). 
• Place biscuits on baking sheet and bake 30 minutes.
• Transfer biscuits to a wire rack to cool.

View full recipe here! 

3. Sweet Potato Holiday Dog Treats From Lemons and Basil

Lady is obsessed with anything sweet potato, so I just had to include a dog treat recipe with the superfood as the staple ingredient! This fun and healthy recipe from Lemons and Basil is sure to be a hit with your pups this holiday, and you can feel good knowing its made with only the best ingredients! 

Ingredients

• 2 cups fresh sweet potato puree
• 1 eggs
• 1/2 cup oats
• 3 cups whole wheat flour
• 3 Tbsp of all natural peanut butter
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 salt (Optional but recommended to extend the shelf life)

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Peel and cube two medium sweet potatoes and bring to a boil in pot of water. Reduce to low and simmer approximately 15-20 minutes or until soft. Drain cooked potatoes and puree using blender or food processor.
• In small bowl, stir together the flour, oats, and cinnamon.
• In a separate large bowl, whisk together the egg, sweet potato and peanut butter until combined. Stir wet ingredients into dry.
• Pour onto a floured surface and roll dough out to 1/4 – 3/8 thick. Cut out using Christmas cookie cutter. The dough will be a little sticky, dust your hands and the rolling pin with a little flour to help!
• Bake for 30 to 35 minutes until golden brown.
• Place on cooling racks and let cool thoroughly. They will harden as they cool.

View full recipe here! 

4. Elfin’ Peanut Butter Pumpkin Dog Treats From Top Dog Tips

Your dog will love to find these sweet treats from Top Dog Tips in their stocking on Christmas morning! They’re also very easy to make and require simiple ingredients, including another superfood favorite, pumpkin! 

Ingredients

• 2 ½ cup whole wheat flour
• 2 Tbsp. natural peanut butter
• 2 eggs
• ½ cup canned natural pumpkin
• ½ Tsp. cinnamon
• ½ tsp. salt

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 350° F. 
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Mix together the flour, salt, peanut butter, eggs, cinnamon, and pumpkin. Add water if needed. 
• Roll out the dough and cut the cookies out. 
• Bake for 30 min. 

View full recipe here! 

5. Cranberry, Lentil, and Oat Christmas Dog Treats From “I Don’t Have Time For That”

For something that’s just as Instagrammable as it is delicious, these cranberry treats created by I Don’t Have Time for That are almost as perfect as your pup. Plus, the recipe doesn’t require much effort on your part and calls for only simple and inexpensive ingredients. 

Ingredients

• 2 cups wheat flour
• 1 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1 cup of lentils prepared following package directions and drained
• 1/2 fresh cranberries chopped
• 1/3 cup celery diced
• 1 egg

Directions

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
• Combine flour, chicken stock, oats, cooked lentils, cranberries, celery and egg in a large bowl, Mix well with fingers. If the mixture is too dry, add chicken stock.
• On a floured surface use a rolling pin to roll out dough to 1/2″ thickness.
• Cut out shapes and place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
• Bake for 50 minutes.
• Remove from oven to cool. Store in zip-lock bags in a refrigerator.

View full recipe here! 

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Interested in more homemade dog treat recipes? Find some of Lady’s favorite pup-friendly cakes and frozen treats here! 

You’ll also find great ideas for pumpkin dog treats here! 

Happy Holidays from Doggone Destinations! We’ll see you in 2020! 

Ready to start planning your trips for the new year? Check out our favorite dog-friendly destinations and dog health and safety tips that you can use while on the go!