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Gingerbread Man Doggy Cookies

Yields: 72 small cookies
Spoil your doggy this holiday season with these fun and easy gingerbread cookies for dogs. The ginger and molasses in these cookies will tantalize your dog. Plus, the icing is festive bringing the gingerbread men to life.
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Ingredients
  

Cookie Ingredients

  • 3 cups oat flour (see note #1)
  • 1½ tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1½ tsp ground ginger (see note #2)
  • ¾ cup unsweetened applesauce (see note #3)
  • 3 tbsp  molasses (see note #4)
  • 2 tbsp olive oil

Icing Ingredients

  • 4 oz cream cheese low or fat-free
  • 1 tbsp honey
  • 1 to 2 tbsp plain yogurt low or fat-free
  • 1 to 3 tbsp oat flour to thicken if needed
  • 2 to 3 drops natural food coloring optional

Instructions
 

Cookie Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, and line a baking sheet with  parchment or wax paper.
  • In a medium bowl, whisk the dry ingredients (flour, cinnamon, ginger) together.
  • In a small bowl, add the wet ingredients (applesauce, molasses, and oil) and beat until combined.
  • Slowly mix the wet ingredient mixture into the dry ingredient mixture, stirring until thoroughly combined and uniform in color.
  • Use your hands to finish combining, making sure the dough is a play-doh consistency (see note #5), and form into a dough ball.
  • Place the dough ball on a non-stick baking mat, parchment paper, or a clean work surface sprinkled with flour. (Separate the dough into separate dough balls for easier rolling.)
  • Place a piece of parchment paper over the dough ball and use a rolling pin to flatten the dough until it is approximately ¼ to ½ inch thickness.
  • Use a gingerbread man cookie cutter or cookie cutters of choice to cut shapes. (Be sure to reroll the scraps of dough, so none goes to waste.)
  • Place the shapes on the prepared baking sheet between ½ inch to 1 inch apart.
  • Bake the cookies for 9 minutes. Rotate the pan, flip the cookies over, and bake on the other side for another 6 minutes.
  • Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely on a wire rack before icing.

Icing Instructions

  • In a small mixing bowl, blend the cream cheese, honey, and yogurt until smooth.
  • Mix in one tablespoon of flour at a time until you reach a desired consistency for spreading or piping onto cookies.
  • For an optional effect, add two to three drops of food coloring to the icing and mix.
  • Decorate the cookies as you see fit.

Notes

#1 - You can substitute the oat flour with other grain or gluten free flours. If your dog isn’t wheat sensitive, then you can use whole wheat flour. I do not recommend all purpose flour. If you substitute flour, then start with 1 cup and add to the batter as needed.
#2 - Do not use gingerbread spice that contains nutmeg, clove, and allspice. Nutmeg is toxic for dogs. Clove and allspice contain a compound called eugenol, which is toxic for cats, and could put dogs at risk.
#3 - If you can find blackstrap molasses, use it because it is less sweet than any other molasses. If you can’t, then use dark molasses over light molasses. The light molasses contains the most sugar. Plus, read the labels to make sure there is no xylitol or other artificial sweeteners.
#4 - Make sure the applesauce is unsweetened. Check labels for xylitol, because it is toxic to dogs. You can replace the ¾ unsweetened applesauce with 3 eggs.
#5 - The dough texture is similar to play-doh, soft and not sticky, but slightly tacky and easy to work with. If the dough is dry and crumbly, try adding ½ teaspoon at a time of water until easy to work with. If the dough is wet, or too soft, try adding 1 tablespoon at a time of flour until easy to work with.
#6 - Store the cookie in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks, or the freezer for up to a month.
#7 - Your dog will love these cookies even without the icing, so feel free to skip it.
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