These cookies are a recipe my husband (a vet tech) and I developed to give our own dogs a special Valentine’s Day treat! They are made with all the things dogs love, like peanut butter and pumpkin, and even have pink icing that is naturally colored with beet juice! They are a snap to make and we are sure your dogs will love them! I’m taking a bunch to my classmates in agility class as Valentines – they are a perfect gift for the dog lover in your life!
Ingredients
- 3 cups flour (I use a gluten free blend) + extra for rolling out dough
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4 cup Peanut Butter (make sure it does not contain artificial sweeteners such as xylitol!)
- 1 cup Pumpkin puree
- 1/2 cup water
- 1-2 cups Non-fat plain yogurt
- 1 can beets in water (for juice, check to make sure no salt was added)
You will also need:
- A handheld or stand mixer (I use both, but it’s just a preference thing)
- The usual measuring cups
- Cling wrap
- Heart-shaped cookie cutter
- Cookie sheet
- Parchment paper
- Board for rolling out dough
- Rolling pin
- Cooling rack
How To Make Valentine’s Day Dog Cookies
Step 1. Combine all the flour (3 cups), eggs, peanut butter and pumpkin into mixing bowl. Mix until combined.
Step 2. Add 1/2 cup water until soft dough is formed. Dough will be sticky.
Step 3. Form dough into 3 or so medium-sized balls and wrap individually in plastic wrap. Chill for at least 2 hours in freezer.
Step 4. Put some flour on your rolling surface and place one of the balls in the center. Roll out with rolling pin until it’s approximately 1/4” thick.
Tip: the dough will get sticky because of the peanut butter. Keeping it floured will help it not stick to the board, your pin, or you!
Step 5. Cut into heart shapes and place on parchment covered cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for approximately 12 minutes, depending on the size of your cookies.
Step 6. Cool cookies on racks.
Step 7. When cookies are cool, combine yogurt and beet juice in mixing bowl (I used handheld for this part) and beat until whipped. The amount will depend on how thick you want your icing and color. 1 ½ cups of yogurt will cover roughly two dozen medium sized cookies. Beat until thickened and you can form peaks. Let sit for about 10 minutes to thicken.
Tip: For the beet juice, to get the medium pink I used 1 tablespoon of beet juice for 1 1/2 cup yogurt. You can add more or less to get the color you want.
Step 8. Smooth onto cookies. Chill for several hours in the fridge. For faster hardening, place in freezer.
All done! They make great Valentine’s Day Gifts – so pretty!
Now, it’s time for the pups to enjoy!
Note: Keeping cookies refrigerated will keep them fresher, longer. Enjoy within a week.
