It’s the most wonderful time of the year, and the busiest! Prepping gifts, decorations, cookies and much more can take up an exhausting amount of effort. But, we do it for our loved ones, and in the spirit of giving. For many of us, this does not exclude our furry family. I, personally, love watching my dog rip into a gift that he’ll cherish for all of five minutes. However, during the holidays the expenses can stack up. So, here’s an alternative to buying those toys that won’t make it past breakfast; homemade cookies!
Christmas cookies are always a good, meaningful gift. It’s time, effort and love going into those baked good after all! So, while you’re baking your seasonal cookies this year, don’t exclude the pup! They would love a gift with a little TLC. See below a couple recipes that may help get you started! Click the titles for the link to it’s source.
Ingredients:
1 cup molasses
4 tablespoons honey
1 cup water
½ cup vegetable oil
6 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
2 tablespoons chopped fresh ginger or one tsp. of dried powder ginger
Directions:
The first thing you need to do is Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Next you will need two bowls, one medium, and one large. Combine the molasses, honey, water, and oil in the medium bowl. In the large bowl mix the flour, the baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and ginger. Then you will want to slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Make sure you combine them well. Now, divide this dough in four balls, wrap each ball in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 3 – 5 hours, or you can freeze them for 1 – 2 hours (just don’t let them get solid!) After the dough is cold, lightly flour your surface and roll the dough out into about 1/4″ thickness. Remember, the thicker you make it, the longer it will take to cook. Now cut the dough out into fun shapes, such as Gingerbread men, with a cookie cutter. You can also forget about shapes, and use a pizza cutter and make the cookies into squares and strips, depending on what you want to do.
Now for the baking! Bake for around 20 – 25 Minutes, until the cookies start to get brown. You can take one out and break it to see how crunchy it is. If you want it really crunchy, then you will want to bake them longer.
- 1 cup rye flour (or substitute rice flour or all-purpose flour)
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ cup unsweetened applesauce
- 2 tablespoons organic honey
- 3½ tablespoons olive oil (or substitute organic canola oil)
- 2 tablespoons organic dried cranberries, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds
- Add the flour, baking powder, applesauce, honey, and olive oil to a mixing bowl. Stir until well combined.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Knead dough on a lightly floured surface and roll out to about half an inch thick. Cut treats with a cookie cutter and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Firmly press a few pieces of chopped cranberries and pumpkin seeds into the top of each cookie.
- Bake for about 12-15 minutes, or until treats are firm to the touch.
- Turn off oven and open oven door. Allow cookies to cool in oven, about 20-30 minutes.
- Storage: cookies will keep for several days when stored in a covered airtight container in a cool, dry, shaded location. Cookies may also be frozen: separate treats with parchment paper and store in an airtight covered container.
Happy baking everyone! I hope your pups appreciate your loving effort in making these Christmas cookies for them! For more cookie ideas check out this link.
Happy Holidays from all of us at DGW!
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