Halloween (Howl-oween!) is coming. There easy pumpkin dog treats are perfect for homemade Halloween dog treats or dog-friendly Thanksgiving goodies. Why not make your dog a batch of puppy pumpkin treats? Tricks for treats? Yes, indeed! Here’s the super simple recipe and DIY details on shaping little pumpkins. The shaping method works with most biscuit dog treat doughs, bonus if they’re orange.
Flashback!
This recipe is an oldie, but a cutie. It was one of the first baked biscuit dog treat recipes shared here on the blog many years ago. The two-ingredient pumpkin treat dough is simple to make, but basic baby food doughs are not the easiest to handle if you’re keen on fancier designs. Hand shaping, like these pumpkins works ok, but if you’d like a dough for rolling and cutting or more detailed stamping, you can check out some of our other dog treat recipes. The simple pumpkin shapes shown here can also be made with other pumpkin dog treat doughs or different types of gorgeous golden orange doughs. Want to tint a treat dough? See our post on tinting dog treat dough for ideas.
Easy Homemade Pumpkin Dog Treat Recipe
Easy two-ingredient homemade pumpkin dog treats with optional decorations. The pumpkin patterns and pea toppers on these pumpkin treats are optional, of course. The treats can be as simple ball and flatten cookies instead, if you prefer. As noted above this is a soft-handling dough, so we’d suggest picking one of our other delicious recipes if you’re keen on rolling and cutting dog treats instead.
You can also use the simple pumpkin treat shaping techniques with other baked biscuit doughs. We have lots! Want pumpkin dough pumpkins? We have those too, like our naturally orange peanut butter pumpkin dog treats, pumpkin and herb puppy paws, or pumpkin and salmon dog treats. Looking to boost the colour of a dough? Check out our post on natural food colourings for dog treats for ideas.
Treat Ingredients:
- 1 small single-serving jar of pumpkin baby food (we used pumpkin and beef – yum!)
- Approximately 1/2 to 3/4 cup of brown rice flour
- Optional: Water if/as needed to adjust consistency
- Optional: Frozen green peas for pumpkin stems
Using a pumpkin or squash based baby food gives these treats a natural orange colour. Plus they’re pumpkin pumpkins! Our small single-serving (110g) baby food jar measured just shy of 1/2 cup of thick puree. Different jar sizes and/or puree consistencies may require adjustments to the flour and/or liquids. See additional notes in the tips and tricks below.
Making the Treats:
- Preheat your oven to 180C (or local equivalent) and gather together your baking ingredients and materials.
- Empty the baby food into a mixing bowl.
- Incrementally add flour, mixing into a cohesive workable dough. The amount of flour required will vary depending on your baby food and any optional add-ins or substitutions. Missed the mark? No worries! You can add a little bit of extra liquid, a small amount of olive oil, or additional flour to adjust consistency if/as needed.
- Rest dough (optional).
- Hand roll into small balls, place on a lined baking sheet, and flatten gently with your hand. To create pumpkin lines, press the flat side of a fork or knife gently in the centre, and the curved side of a spoon gently on either side. Top with an optional green pea stem and gently push into the dough to secure the pea
- Bake for approximately 10-15 minutes. Cooking time will vary with shape/size, so keep an eye on the oven.
- Cool before serving and storage.
Baked Biscuit Dog Treat Making Tips and Tricks
- See our posts on making baked biscuit (cookie) dog treats and decorating homemade dog treats for more information and helpful tips.
- We don’t include yield in our treat recipe posts because it is very dependent on what the maker decides for treat shape, size, and thickness when they’re baking. We like to bake small batch treats though (variety is the spice of life!).
- Baked treats can be broken for smaller dogs, or made bigger/smaller. Remember, the smaller the treat, the shorter the baking time.
- For a crunchier treat, you can let baked treats sit a while in the cooling oven or pop the baked treats into a dehydrator. Note that basic baby food treats are prone to surface crackling and crazing, especially when low fat and made with gluten-free flour.
- Homemade baked dog treats are best consumed within a couple of days from baking or frozen for longer storage. See our post on baked dog treat shelf life and storage for information and tips.
Recipe and Ingredient Tips and Tricks
- Baby food is a quick and easy way to add delicious nutritious content to homemade dog treats, but always check the label to avoid no-no ingredients such as onion or garlic to be dog-safe.
- Alternatively, you can substitute pureed cooked pumpkin or, if it is sold in your area, canned pumpkin puree (plain pumpkin, not spiced or sweetened pie filling). The consistency and liquid content will vary, so you may need to play around with the flour quantity (or add a little water) to get a nice workable dough consistency. We have some other doggone great dog treat dough recipes you could try, too!
Hungry for more tasty treats? There are all sorts of homemade dog treat ideas in our blog archives. You can use the category and tag labels to find other recipes that might be of interest or use our internal search tools to find something specific. Remember, treats (bought or homemade) are for spoiling your pup in moderation. We share ideas from treats that we’ve made ourselves for our pets, but different animals have different preferences (likes/dislikes), just like people. Some pets may have special dietary requirements and/or food allergies/intolerances. If you are ever in doubt or have questions about what’s suitable for your pet, have a chat with your trusted vet.
