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The Ultimate Guide to Barkday Treats
Pawsome Treats Meet Pawfect Packaging
Dog birthdays have become a pretty big deal, and it’s easy to see why. Our pups are family, and pet parents love any excuse to celebrate them with something special.
That’s exactly what inspired our Happy Barkday Boxes.
These adorable little boxes are perfectly sized for a decorated dog treat and make such a fun way to celebrate a doggy's big day. Whether you're setting up a farmer's market table or running a specialty pet treat bakery, Barkday treats are guaranteed to get tails wagging.
In this guide, we’ll walk through everything step-by-step—from baking a simple dog-safe treat to decorating and packaging it—with helpful resources along the way so there’s no guesswork.
If you’re a beginner, this tutorial is simple enough to follow right at home. And if you’re a seasoned pet treat baker, you’ll be able to make these Barkday treats in a breeze for markets, displays, or birthday orders.
If you’re a cookier thinking about branching into the pet treat world and want to show off those well-honed decorating skills to a whole new market, we’ve also included some helpful resources later in the guide.
And to make things even more fun, we’ve partnered with our friends over at Pastries 4 Pets for a giveaway, the details are waiting for you at the end of the post!
Baking Your Barkday Treats
For the treats in this tutorial, we used a simple grain-free dog treat recipe from our friends at Pastries 4 Pets. It’s a great base recipe for decorated dog cookies because the dough rolls out easily and holds its shape when baked.
We highly recommend this recipe if you plan to decorate your treats. These cookies hold their form beautifully and bake up with a nice flat surface, which makes decorating much easier. Since we designed this tutorial around this recipe, we haven’t tested other doughs for decorating, so results may vary if you substitute a different one.
The dough comes together quickly, and once it’s mixed you simply roll it out, cut your shapes, and bake.
Basic Steps
Preheat your oven to 350°F.
Mix the dry ingredients together, then add the wet ingredients until a dough forms.
Roll the dough to about ¼ inch thick.
Cut out shapes using your cookie cutter.
Bake for about 20 minutes, flipping halfway through.
For decorated Barkday treats, we used a our Large Bone Cookie Cutter, which was made to fit perfectly inside our Happy Barkday Boxes.
Once your treats are baked and fully cooled, they’re ready to decorate!
Decorating the Barkday Treats
Once your treats are completely cooled, it’s time for the fun part, decorating!
For these Barkday cookies, we kept the designs simple so they’re easy to batch for markets or orders while still looking bright and festive inside the box window.
Products We Used
To decorate our treats, we used:
Dog-safe food coloring for the designs
Dog-safe sprinkles for a little extra Barkday sparkle
Tipless piping bags for easy icing and clean lines
- Projector for easy lettering
The Pastries 4 Pets icing is especially beginner-friendly because the consistency instructions are printed right on the bag, making it easy to mix the perfect texture for outlining, flooding, and piping details.
1. Prepare Your Base Icing
Start by mixing your icing according to the directions on the bag.
For the base layer, we used the icing completely white, no coloring added. One of the nice things about this icing is how naturally bright white it is.
For consistency, we used what many decorators call a “plood” consistency, somewhere between piping and flood.
This means the icing is:
Thick enough that it won’t run off the cookie
Fluid enough that it settles into place with a gentle shake
The goal is a smooth, seamless white background.
Once your icing reaches this consistency, scoop it into a piping bag and seal it. Now it’s time to prepare your colors.
2. Mix Your Colored Icing
Scoop some of your white icing into a bowl to mix your colors.
Since this icing will be used for decorations, you’ll want a thicker piping consistency so your designs hold their shape while drying. If the icing feels too thin, add a small amount of icing powder and mix until you reach the right consistency. If it becomes too thick, simply add a few drops of water and mix again until you achieve the perfect texture.
Add a small amount of dog-safe coloring powder and mix thoroughly. Start small and work your way up until you reach your desired pigment.
You can always add more color, but if you add too much you can lighten it by mixing in more white icing.
As you finish your colors, scoop them into piping bags and seal them.
Pro Tip:
If you don’t want to dirty several bowls, mix your colors from lightest to darkest and use the color wheel to your advantage. Ex: White → Yellow → Orange → Red → Purple
This lets you reuse the same bowl while gradually building deeper colors.
3. Cut Your Base Icing Piping Bag
Using scissors, carefully cut a small hole at the tip of your piping bag.
Make sure the seam is facing upward so the icing flows through a nice round opening.
Start small, you can always cut the hole larger later if needed, but a smaller opening gives you much more control over the icing flow.
Pro Tip:
Before decorating your cookies, test your icing on a piece of parchment paper. This helps you check the consistency, flow, and hole size. It’s also a great way to warm up your piping hand with a few simple shapes.
4. Outline the Cookie
Begin by outlining the shape of the bone a few millimeters inside the edge of the cookie.
This outline acts as a wall that keeps your flood icing neatly in place.
Pro Tip:
When piping, gently touch the icing tip to the cookie, apply steady pressure, then lift slightly and allow the icing to fall naturally into place. This technique helps create smoother lines and prevents dragging the icing across the surface.
5. Flood the Cookie
Immediately flood the cookie after outlining. Don’t let the outline dry, or you may end up with a visible seam in the icing.
You may want to snip your piping bag slightly larger for this step.
Start right against the outline and work your way around the cookie, gradually filling the center until the entire area is covered.
Once filled, gently shake the cookie to help the icing settle into a smooth surface.
6. Let the Icing Crust
Allow the cookies to sit for a while so the icing can crust over.
This step is very important. If the icing is still wet when you add decorations, the colors may bleed into the white base and lose their definition.
If you're decorating in batches, this is a great time to outline and flood the rest of your cookies or tidy up your workspace.
After about an hour, the surface should be ready for decorating.
7. Lettering
Start with your lettering first so you don’t accidentally drag your hand through other decorations later.
For this project we used a projector, which makes lettering incredibly easy. It allows you to trace the design directly onto the cookie and keeps everything perfectly centered and straight.
Choose a font that is easy to replicate and fits the playful Barkday theme. We used a font called "Paws Doggy" If you want to recreate this look.
Pro Tip:
If piping lettering freehand, use short, controlled strokes rather than trying to pipe an entire word in one motion.
8. Add Decorative Lines
Before piping your colored icing, give the bags a gentle massage to warm the icing and improve flow. Cut a small hole similar in size to your flood tip and begin piping.
Touch the tip down, apply steady pressure, then lift slightly and allow the icing to fall into place as a line. To break the line cleanly, simply touch the tip back down and stop applying pressure.
Repeat with additional colors for a fun Barkday look.
9. Add Sprinkles
Add your sprinkles while the decorative lines are still wet so they adhere properly. Sprinkles are a simple embellishment that really elevates the final presentation.
Pro Tip:
Use a scribe tool or toothpick to gently nudge sprinkles into the perfect spot.
10. Let the Cookies Dry
Now comes the hardest part: waiting.
Let the cookies dry completely uncovered in a cool, dry area for 24 hours.
Do not touch the icing to check if it’s dry. If it hasn’t been 24 hours, it’s not ready yet, and touching it can cause cracking or fingerprints.
Patience pays off here. Once the icing is fully set, your Barkday cookies are finished and ready for packaging!
Assembling the Happy Barkday Box
Once your decorated cookie is fully dry, it’s time to package it up!
Our Happy Barkday Boxes ship flat for easy storage, but they’re quick and simple to assemble.
What You’ll Need
Your fully dried decorated dog treat
Let's get started!
1. Gently shape the box
Start by gently bending the box into shape, using the pre-scored fold lines as your guide. If needed, lightly fold along the scored lines first to help the box take shape more easily.
2. Fold in the top and bottom flaps
Next, fold the top and bottom flaps inward along the scored edges. Tuck the side tabs into place to form the box structure.
3. Secure the front tab
On the inside of the box cover, pull down the locking tab and insert it into the slot. Once the tab is in place, your Barkday box is fully assembled.
4. Bag your cookie
Place your decorated cookie into one of our 4" x 6" self-seal bags and seal it closed. This helps keep the treat protected and fresh inside the box.
5. Insert the cookie into the box
Open the top of the assembled Barkday box and gently slide the bagged cookie inside. Position the cookie so your decoration is facing forward and shows nicely through the clear window.
6. You’re done!
That’s it! Your Barkday treat is packaged and ready to go! Give yourself a pat on the back (or a human treat) and enjoy the fruits of your labor.
These boxes are such a fun way to turn a single decorated dog treat into a finished Barkday gift that will make all the other dogs at the dog park jealous.
Tail-Wagging Testimonials
We had a little help from some very good boys and girls to test out these treats and model our new Barkday boxes, and the reviews were a solid 5 out of 5 paws.
Take a look at some of our adorable taste-testers enjoying their Barkday treats!
Thinking About Adding Dog Treats to Your Lineup?
If you're a cookie decorator looking at these Barkday treats and thinking “Okay… these are just too cute”, you might be wondering if adding dog treats to your lineup could be a fun and profitable new offering.
Many cookie decorators already have the perfect skill set for it. The same piping techniques, design principles, and creativity you use on decorated sugar cookies translate beautifully to dog treats. And pet parents absolutely love celebrating their pups with something special.
That said, selling dog treats does come with a few additional considerations. Unlike baked goods meant for people, dog treats are typically regulated as animal food, which means the rules can be a little different depending on your state. Cottage food regulations often do not cover dog treats.
While that might sound intimidating at first, many small pet treat businesses start from home with just a few registered recipes before expanding their lineup. The process is often more approachable than people expect once you know where to start.
We put together a few helpful resources below if you’re curious about learning more.
Helpful Resources for Getting Started
- AAFCO (Association of American Feed Control Officials) Provides guidelines for pet food ingredients, labeling, and safety standards.
- Find Your State Registration and Licensing information HERE
If you’re simply baking these treats for your own pup or your friends and family, you’re all set. But if you’re considering selling them, checking your state’s guidelines first will help ensure you’re doing everything safely and legally.
And if you do decide to add Barkday treats to your lineup, we’d love to see what you create!
More Barkday Treat Ideas
If you’re planning to add Barkday treats to your lineup, it’s always helpful to have a few different options ready for customers, especially during busy farmer’s market and event season.
Single decorated treats are perfect for impulse purchases, and having a couple of fun shapes on hand makes it easy for pet parents to grab something special for their pup.
In addition to the bone treats featured in this guide, we also love making paw print cookies for our Barkday Stand Up Pouches. They’re quick to decorate, easy to batch, and look adorable packaged up for market tables.
That’s a Wrap, Pawty Time!
And just like that, your Barkday treats are ready to go! From baking and decorating to packaging them up in the Happy Barkday Boxes, you now have everything you need to create adorable treats that any pup (and their human) will love.
Whether you’re making these for your own dog, adding them to your market lineup, or just experimenting with something new in the kitchen, Barkday treats are such a fun way to celebrate our four-legged friends.
If you’re feeling inspired to give these a try, we’ve got one more surprise for you.
We’ve partnered with our friends at Pastries 4 Pets for a Barkday giveaway! One lucky winner will receive a Barkday Boxes, Bags, matching cutters, and dog-safe decorating supplies to start making their own adorable dog treats.
To enter, head over to our Instagram and check out the caption on our first pinned post for all the details.
The giveaway ends Friday, 3/13, so be sure to hop over and enter before then!
Good luck, and happy Barkday baking!
