How To Add Color To Your Homemade Dog Treats
Not sure how to safely color your dog's treats? It's really simple, use a plant-based single-ingredient powder that is safe for dogs to ingest in small quantities. Not only will you add a pop of color to your dog's home-baked cookies, but also you will be adding nutrition that will benefit their health! So next time, add some color and let your pup thrive with a healthy homemade snack.
Let me show you a few examples of how I used a plant-based powder to add color to my batch of homemade treats.
For Valentine's Day, I used dragon fruit powder to color my homemade dog biscuits pink. I used 2 tsp to one batch of Loki Doki Dog's Pantry Dog Biscuit Recipe. I simply added the powder to the dry ingredients before adding any wet ingredients. You can add more than I did. My suggestion would be to increase it to 3-4 tsp, depending on how dark you want your cookies to be. I was aiming for a light blush pink when stamping out my dog treats with Loki Doki Dog's Conversation Hearts dog biscuit cookie cutters.
For St Patrick's Day, I used green spirulina powder to color my homemade dog biscuits green. I used 2 tsp to one batch of Loki Doki Dog's Pantry Dog Biscuit recipe to get a vibrant green color for our shamrocks and clover-shaped dog biscuits that were stamped out with Loki Doki Dog's St Patrick's themed dog cookie cutters. I simply added the powder to the dry ingredients before adding any wet ingredients. Want your batch to be a lighter green? Simply add less. Start with 3/4 tsp and see if you like the results.
Our Pantry Recipe is not available on our website's blog, as it's an exclusive recipe we give with every cookie cutter order. So next time your place a cookie cutter order, be sure to keep the recipe card that comes with your order for when it's time to bake!
My big tip when working with plant-based powders in your dog biscuit dough: A little goes a long way with most plant-based powders, so start with 1-2 tsp to your first batch of dough. If the dough seems dark at first, bake your dog treats first and see if you like the results. They most likely will lighten up after baking.
Let's look over my overall suggestions to obtain your desired color dog treat:
Pink- dragon fruit or beet powder
Green- green spirulina powder
Blue- blue spirulina powder
Orange- carrot powder
Purple- purple sweet potato
Let's look over the health benefits for your dog, from the suggested powders:
Dragon Fruit- is rich in Vitamin C, which can help strengthen your dog's immune system and improve cognitive function.
Beets- are rich in Vitamin C, fiber, manganese, folate, and potassium. These micronutrients will help aid in your dog's immune system and digestion. Plus, they can give your dog healthy skin & coat.
Spirulina- aids in strengthening your dog's digestion and bowel function. Spirulina is packed full of vitamins A, B, and E, and is dense with nutrients. It also contains over 50% protein! It's also rich in fatty acids, which is great for your dog's coat.
Carrots- full of Vitamin A! We all know Vitamin A supports eye health, but it also will assist in supporting your dog's immune system, plus healthy skin and coat.
Purple Sweet Potato- packed with Vitamin A, Vitamin C, potassium, & fiber. They also contain beta-carotene and anthocyanins, which act as antioxidants that boost immunity and fight off chronic diseases.
This is a friendly reminder that it's important to always check your food product's ingredient list. Not all human-grade food products are made the same. Before making anything homemade for your pups, check over the food label to ensure they are no additives that are toxic for your dog to consume.
Before we wrap this up, I do want to say you can opt not to use powders, but the actual vegetable. There are ways to extract the colors from vegetables that are safe for your dog to consume, to color your dog treats. I merely suggest using powders for convenience & ease.
If you'd like to know what baking products I like to use in our dog treat recipes, including our favorite single-ingredient plant-based powders, you can go to my Amazon favorite list linked here: Loki Doki Dog Baking Essentials
Give our homemade dog treat recipes a try with these tips on how to color your dog biscuit dough! Let us know what you think and don't forget to tag us if you're on Instagram. I love to see what you're baking up in the kitchen with your fur kids. Our IG handle is @lokidokidogshop #LDDhomemadetreatos
Happy Baking!
Cheers,
April