How to decorate dog cookies?

by Lourdes Aggari
(Houston, TX)

Hello,

I baked paw and dog bone shaped cookies for my dog. I want to decorate them. I want to decorate the paw with black to look like paw prints and the bone with any colors. I bought Wilton Candy colors (pink, black, green and violet) and vanilla chips. I'm thinking of returning the vanilla chips and replace with dehydrated yogurt or carob chips. Do I need baking tips (what size) and bag to do this or can I just use a paint brush? I've never decorated in my life. Where do I start?

Thanks for your help.

Chef's Answer ~ Decorating your dog's cookies can be as simple or as detailed as you care to make them. Since you're just starting out, I would recommend putting your dog treat icing in a zip-lock bag, snipping off the very tip of one corner and using that as a make-shift piping bag. Once you get the hang of that, then you can purchase all the neat icing tips. The tips can be purchased individually or in a set or kit. If you don't have any supplies, a set may be the way to go. You can use a paint brush if you want the end result to be very thin, otherwise piping is the common choice. You may also want to watch a couple videos on youtube about decorating cookies, and then apply what you learned to dog cookies. But the main thing is that you practice and have fun! :)

Using the Wilton candy melts is OK, but since they are primarily sugar, go easy on the amount of decorations per cookie and limit how many decorated cookies your dog has per day.

Happy Dog Treat Baking (and Decorating)! :)