Homemade Valentine's Sweetheart for Your Sweet Fur-friend~!

Stuck at home? Want a creative valentine treat to give your pup? Check out this super cute recipe below!

DIY Doggy Sweetheart Treats

*Yields 7 dozen mini heart cookies*

Ingredients:
3 cups brown rice flour
3 jars (4 ounces each) pureed apple baby food
2 to 4 tablespoons water
Blue, pink, yellow, green, blue, violet and red gel food color
2-inch heart-shaped cookie cutter
Parchment paper
Fine-tipped artist’s brush

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F. Cover two (or more) baking sheets with parchment paper. Combine the brown rice flour and applesauce in a large mixing bowl. Mix together on medium speed until a crumbly dough forms.

Add water 1 tablespoon at a time until the mixture clumps together and forms soft, non-sticky dough. You may not have to use all of the water. If the dough is sticky, add extra flour as needed.

Divide the dough into five equal portions.

Return one portion of dough to the mixing bowl and add blue food color a little at a time until a pastel color is achieved. Add extra flour if the dough becomes sticky from the addition of food color.

Repeat the process with the remaining portions of dough and the pink, yellow, green, blue and violet gel food color.

Roll each piece of dough between two sheets of parchment paper; use a 2-inch heart shaped cookie cutter to cut shapes from the dough.

Transfer the dough cut outs to the prepared baking sheets with a small spatula. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the cookies are firm and their surfaces appear dry. Let the cookies cool completely.

On a small plate, place a small portion of red gel food color and add 1 or 2 drops of water to thin it slightly. Use the artists’ brush to paint red conversation messages onto the treats. Let them stand for 30 minutes, or until the lettering is completely dry.

Treat your pup as desired. Store the treats in an airtight container. Enjoy!

❤️ Happy Valentine's Day, Friends ❤️


Dog Treats for Valentines Day

*Note: Be sure to consult your vet before introducing new ingredients into your pet’s diet. The ASPCA assures us that food colorings approved for human consumption are also safe to be used in foods for pets. However, if you are not inclined to use food color you may omit it completely. Alternatively, vegetable powders such as carrot powder and beet powder can be added to the recipe to obtain color naturally. This recipe makes a large portion of dough, so consider gifting some cookies to dog friends and neighbors (with the owner’s approval, of course), or freeze half of the dough for later use.

All photographs by Heather BairdRecipe by Etsy.