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Homemade 4th of July Dog Treat Recipe

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These little banana cookies were always a bit hit when I used to make them for a little boutique dog shop here in Scottsdale, Arizona. My Homemade 4th of July Dog Treat Recipe is coming just in time for the holiday, but these can be made year round. My dogs (Sparky in front, and Ryleigh) are clearly excited 🙂

How to make my Homemade 4th of July Dog Treat Recipe

The first step is to combine one large mashed banana, one egg and vanilla extract. You could make all sorts of substitutions here. Applesauce or sour cream for the egg, ground flax seed plus water to make a “flax” egg … the important thing is the measurement. One large egg equals 1/4 cup.

Add baking powder and if you’d prefer these don’t rise, use less. It won’t affect the overall recipe.

Flour is next and I am using all purpose flour so that my colors are more vibrant, but any flour will do here. An interesting find is that these treats do develop quite a bit of gluten so if you do try a gluten-free flour or blend, I would love to hear how they turned out for you! Many times, recipes converted to gluten-free flours require additional flour, so let me know if that is the case for you.

Moving on, a bit of milk – any milk. I often use oat milk for the pups recipes, but any will do. Just be sure your dog is not allergic if you are using a nut milk!

Depending on where you live, you may need more (or less) liquid. As mentioned above, I live in Arizona and it’s SO dry here that I kind of have to judge the dough on what it looks like. You need a soft, pliable dough that you can easily roll out to a smooth consistency like any human cut out cookie dough. This one behaves more like a bread dough than a traditional cookie dough.

Equipment needed:

Safe Food Colors

You will need some food coloring. There are several natural brands which will give you a paler cookie, but I use these vegan colors from Americolor. I am using red and blue from this set *affiliate link. Less is more. These are strong colors, so go easy.

Cookie Cutters

Below are the exact cookies cutters I found on Amazon *affiliate link What I love about these cutters is that you can use them just as cutters (shape only), or press with the plunger to get the imprints which stay in the cookie during baking. Since they aren’t metal, they don’t rust and wash up beautifully. They even come apart for easy cleaning.

You’ll want to get your hands on these (or alternate) cutters in advance of making this recipe.

I begin with the natural colored dough so the food color doesn’t contaminate the pure white color. Then blue (which I left marbled) and finally, red.

How to Oven Dry

These do not spread very much, if at all, so feel free to get as many on your parchment-lined cookie sheet as will fit. Bake at 350 until they are set but not browned. Reduce the heat to as low as it will go and continue to bake until they are hard and crispy.

Are these shelf stable? How long will they keep?

The little ones obviously bake much faster, so be sure to remove those first. You want a nice crispy, crunchy treat and drying increases the shelf life of these cookies quite significantly. Once dried, kept covered in an air-tight container, these easily last a couple of weeks. Moisture is the enemy, so be sure they are fully dried.

You will know they are done when they are cool and you break them in half hearing a sharp, crisp sound. The goal is to remove moisture so that mold cannot occur.

*DISCLAIMER You should always treat responsibly. I give one per day. Be aware of any food sensitivities your dog may have and substitute ingredients accordingly. Always check with your veterinarian if you are unsure.

Party-themed Packaging

I always buy Wilton treat bags at Michaels or Hobby Lobby along with coordinating ribbon. Add a personalized label if you wish. They make a fun gift for the pooch in your family, especially if you take the time to oven-dry these til they are crisp. Then your recipient can continue to treat their dog for days to come without them spoiling (see above).

Sparky is sooooo trained to know when it’s cookie time! He used to twirl for treats, but then he hurt his back. Now he just gets them for being a good boy 🙂

Did you make my Homemade 4th of July Dog Treat Recipe? Leave me a comment below and let me know what you thought! You can also tag me with your photos on Instagram @projectpawsrescuenetwork or on Twitter @iluvprojectpaws and on Facebook @ProjectPAWS.org

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Enjoy some of our other dog treat recipes located here, in THE BARKERY

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Homemade 4th of July Dog Treat Recipe

These little banana cookies were always a bit hit when I used to make them for a little boutique dog shop here in Scottsdale, Arizona. My Homemade 4th of July Dog Treat Recipe is coming just in time for the holiday, but these can be made year round. My dogs (Sparky in front and Ryleigh) are clearly excited 🙂
Course Snack
Cuisine American
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
DRYING TIME: 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Servings 2 trays (various sized cookies)

Equipment

  • Stand Mixer
  • Cookie Sheet lined with Parchment
  • Safe Food Coloring (see link in blog post)
  • Cookie Cutters (see link in blog post)

Ingredients

  • 1 large Banana mashed
  • 1 large Egg or 1/4 cup equivalent (see blog post for details)
  • 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
  • 3 c Flour see blog post for options plus more for rolling
  • 1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
  • 1-2 tbsp Oat Milk see blog post for options
  • Red and Blue Food Coloring see blog post for links

Instructions

  • The recipe is best prepared in a stand mixer due to the amount of mixing required to incorporate the food color. The dough does develop gluten, so be sure to allow it to rest before rolling. Combine all ingredients and divide into three separate bowls.
  • Add one of the balls of dough back to the mixer with the blue food color. Remove and repeat with the next ball of dough and the red food color. You can choose to leave them marbled, or fully incorporate the color.
  • Preheat the oven and line two baking sheets with parchment. Place your cut out cookies on the parchment. They do not spread, so you can fill up the sheets. The number of cookies this recipe yields depends on how large you make them.
  • Bake for 8-10 minutes but don't let them get golden. Once all of the cookies are baked, reduce the oven temperature as low as it will go and continue to bake the cookies until they are crisp (see notes). They will need to be dry for any kind of shelf life. This can take 1-2 hours depending on your oven. Allow to cool before storing in an airtight container.

Notes

NOTE: Please keep in mind that all ovens cook differently. These can take one to two hours to fully dry depending on how large or small you make them. Allow to cool and break one in half. You should have a crisp cookie when done.
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