One of our favorite holiday traditions is baking – baking for the dogs, of course.

Baking for dogs is one of the most stressless things you will do during the holiday because dogs, well, they are just so good natured, and non-disciminating when it comes to food.

Why bake treats for dogs?

So many advantages to baking for dogs: No being-in-the-kitchen extra weight gain for you – unless you can’t keep your hands off the peanut butter and bacon num-nums. Also, it’s nice to know exactly what is going into your dog’s food. And if you have leftover ingredients, you could bake extra goodie for some shelter dogs.

Dog-treat holiday recipes

Here’s a list of holiday dog treats to get you baking in the kitchen:

• Fancy treats:  Here’s a great recipe for cookies studded with cranberries and pumpkin seeds for a festive look. Of course, dogs aren’t able  to see the entire color spectrum but why not make the cookies a little fancy?
• Healthy snacks: Mint has been known to help with dog’s digestion and breath. And these low-calorie snacks offer a nice apple twist.

• Snacks to share with the humans: This dog-biscuit recipe that features cornmeal and a nice, grainy texture that humans in the house like as well.
• For the vegetarian dogs: Check out this vet approved and dog tested recipe. that has only five simple ingredients.

• For the bacon fiends: This comes from The Kitchn, one of my favorite sites. This bacon-treat recipe uses bacon fat to drive your dogs wild and make your hosue smell good.
• Pumpkin anyone? We like pumpkin in our house. For dogs, pumpkin is a delicious, nutritious treat that provides a great way to sneak fiber into diets. Check out a peanut-butter and pumpkin version.
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  For friends who observe Hanukkah – Use blue and white icing instead of green and red, suggests dogtreaticing.com. They have some other nifty ideas for this holiday.

• Minimalists: We are definitely trying this one this weekend. It only has five ingredients and one of them is beef broth. The dog will love this one!
• Store bought: Not in the mood to bake? That’s OK, the dog will forgive you. Here’s some of our favorite local dog-treat folks:
  • Happy Tails Barkery
  • Smelly Dog

Bone apetit everyone!