Cranberries and coconut are both superfoods for dogs. These coconut and cranberry dog treats are an easy way to add some extra nutrients to your pets diet.
Cranberries are high in fiber and antioxidants, which help prevent disease and boost your dog's immune system. Adding cranberries to your dog's diet can also help if he is having urinary tract issues.
Cranberries also contain vitamins C, E and K, manganese and copper. They are rich in vitamins B1 and B2, as well.
Coconut has natural antifungal and antibacterial properties. It is also rich in dietary fiber and low in sugar and carbohydrates.
Coconut is a great source of healthy fats as well. This means coconut dog treats can aid in skin and coat health, if you have a particularly itchy dog.
Coconut and Cranberry Dog Treats Recipe
This cranberry dog treat recipe also includes some other superfood ingredients. Pumpkin, for example, is great for your dog's digestion.
Peanut butter is a great protein source, but be sure to purchase a brand that does NOT contain xylitol.
Cinnamon also has anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties. It can help with skin issues, and has even been shown to help regular blood sugar.
PrintRecipe: Coconut and Cranberry Dog Treats
These coconut dog treats are easy to make, and can be made in bulk for storage and use at a later time.
If you don't have coconut flour, you could use whole wheat, almond or oat flour instead. You could also substitute hemp seeds, ground sunflower seeds or chia seeds for the ground flaxseed in this recipe.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: about 72 treats 1x
- Category: Baked Treats
- Method: Oven Baked
- Cuisine: Dog Treats
Ingredients
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ½ cup dried cranberries
- 1 egg
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
- ¼ cup peanut butter
- ¼ cup pureed pumpkin
- ¼ cup shredded coconut
- 2 cups coconut flour
- ½ cup water
- ½ cup ground flaxseed
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 350°F.
In a large bowl, mix the coconut flour, ground flaxseed, cinnamon, shredded coconut and cranberries.
Add the peanut butter, egg, pumpkin and coconut oil to the dry ingredients. Combine until it forms a crumbly dough.
Gradually add water until the dough begins to come together.
If you've never baked with coconut flour before, you'll notice that it has a unique texture. Because it doesn't contain the gluten proteins that naturally bind and create structure, any dough made with coconut flour will be a bit crumbly.
As you can see, I just use my hands to pack the dough into small balls and place them on a cookie sheet.
If you’d prefer to roll the dough out and use cookie cutters to make cute shapes, you can do that too. You'll need to roll the dough out until it’s about 1/4″ thick.
If you want to make small treats for a tiny dog or small treats to use during training, you can roll the dough out and use a pizza cutter or butter knife to score it into tiny squares.
No matter what shape you make them, bake the homemade dog treats for 20-25 minutes, until they turn golden brown.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 treat
- Calories: 27
- Sugar: .2 g
- Sodium: 5 mg
- Fat: 2.1 g
- Carbohydrates: 1.8 g
- Fiber: 1.2 g
- Protein: .5 g
- Cholesterol: 5 mg
How to store: Store leftover cranberry dog treats in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 12-14 days. Remember that homemade dog treat recipes do not have the preservatives that store-bought products do.
They will not last as long. If you'd like, you can freeze these treats in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
For More Information
We publish many homemade dog food and treat recipes every month. For more recipes, pet food cooking tips, and advice, see our “Recipes” section. If you're new to the home-cooked dog food world, I recommend you read more about “How Much To Feed” to understand serving sizes, “What Supplements To Use” to create well-balanced meals, and “How To Store” for tips on simple and easy homemade dog food storing in a fridge or a freezer.
