Christmas is just around the corner, so we wanted to create an easy DIY dog treat to help you celebrate with your dogs! Making a Gingerbread House is a tradition in many homes, so today we are showing you how to create DIY Gingerbread Dog House. This recipe is a bit more complex then normal, but I am sure you will have fun making these!
DIY Gingerbread Dog House
Ingredients
3 Cups of Whole Wheat Flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup molasses
3/4 cup water
For “Icing/cookie glue” You will need White Chocolate discs (contain no cocoa), or Yogurt Chips, or Cream Cheese. The choice is up to you.
Directions
Preheat your oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. In a large bowl mix together flour, cinnamon, and ground ginger. Mix all that together, then add your coconut oil, water, and molasses. Stir util you create a nice, not sticky, dough. Now roll out your dough into 1/4 inch thick pieces. Now comes the fun part. Click here for a printable pattern that you can use to cut out your pieces. Instead of making the straight up and down door, you can round it to look like a dog house door, or get creative and use a small Christmas tree cookie cutter like we did!
For each DIY Gingerbread Dog House you want to create, you will need two roof tiles, two wall tiles, one front door, and one back side (which is the front door till without the hole in it). Lay your pieces onto your cookie sheet and bake them for 15 – 20 minutes. Your gingerbread needs to be completely cooled before we can move onto the next step. So place it on a cooling rack for a few hours.
Assemble and Decorate
Now it’s time to assemble your DIY Gingerbread Dog House. This works the best if you have someone around to lend a helping hand! We used melted white chocolate (contains no cocoa), to hold our houses together. You can also use Yogurt chips or cream cheese (which does not dry hard, but will work in a pinch). Place the back wall of the house on a flat surface and put a thin layer of the icing on the left and right side. Now put another thin layer of icing on each of your outside walls, and stand them up on the back wall (watch the video for better instructions). Now place a thin layer of icing on the top part of both walls and the back side of the door and lightly press together. The DIY Gingerbread Dog House should stand on it’s own. Set these aside to dry.
Once the base part of the houses are dry, it’s time to add the roof. Places the houses in their normal position, and put a thin layer of icing on the front and back where the roof tiles will sit. Place the roof tiles on the house, lightly press down, and run one more bead of icing down the center of the roof tiles. Your DIY Gingerbread Dog House is now assembled. You can feed them to your dogs as is, or you can decorate them for even more fun!
We choose to use a bit more white chocolate, a few sprinkles, and some other fun things to spruce up our houses. Remember, moderation is key, some of these ingredients contain sugar, so use in moderation. These are treats, not meal replacements. They are meant to only be given to your dog once in a while.
Don’t forget to share this with your friends so they can make it with their dogs! Let us know in the comments what type of treat you want us to try making next time! Memphis is telling Shelby a secret. I think she might be saying she wants to steal Oakley’s treat for herself!
MORE Treat videos: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL400F1C1759E6AF49
* Please note that I’m neither a vet nor an animal nutritionist, so it’s advisable to consult with your own authority when trying new foods, and also to ensure that your dog’s home cooked diet is balanced & includes all of the nutrients that are necessary for your dog’s health. As with ALL treats, feed in moderation, and don’t feed anything to your dogs that you don’t feel comfortable feeding them. These are treats, not meal replacements.
