I know this site has nothing to do with dogs, but I make human and dog cookies all the time. I see dog cookies with yogurt icing that dries hard all the time in stores, some not so good. I'd like to start making my own but I can't find much info on the subject. I'm thinking if I could get one that works well that I can flood and pipe with it could even be a healthy alternative for humans. If anyone knows anything I am all ears and thank you for putting up with my silly questions.
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The fact that no one has made a comment tells me I'm in some pretty deep water. I ordered a dog icing just to try it and see what was in it. Love the result, don't like the ingredients. I'm not a trained baker, don't understand the science behind it much, wish I did but do ok with it. I put just plain yogurt which hardens but cracks and a recipe I found that uses tapioca flour but it cracked too. Decorated dog cookies are everywhere in the natural pet stores and advertise they are Yogurt. I am missing something here and would really love to make my dog and his play group fiends some good decorated cookies that won't make any of them sick. A photo is attached of my results. Anyone with some baking confection knowledge that can help would be great!
That's really an interresting topic, I had never hear about yogurt frosting before.
A quick recipe check on the internet shows that it truly consists of yogurt and not much else (if for dogs, and if the frosting should harden). The recipes call for a bit of honey, sugar free peanut butter, etc. as flavor.
Well, doesn't sound bad, but I doubt that it can be used as a 100% substitute for icing. The hardening happens because the yogurt dries, and this will almost always result in cracks (because this is just what yogurt does when left to dry in the air... crack). Additionally yogurt tends to be a bit on the runny side, some decorating techniques require stiffer icing.
I haven't tried it, but how about adding whipped egg white to the icing? As far as I know eggs are OK for dogs. The egg white would give more stability to the whole thing and might also prevent cracks (though not sure about that). Or switch from yogurt to Skyr (special Iclandic thing, kind of a mix between yogurt and quark). The icing would be stiffer to start with (but might still crack...). Or maybe corn starch as a substitute for powdered sugar (could make the cracking worse, though)?
I'd strongly advise you to experiment a bit, sounds like it's worth it 
Sorry, I can't help with this one.
@Laegwen - Thank you for adding your thoughts, at least I know it's not me that kind find any info. I like a challenge but this ones is tough. I really wonder what is on those dog cookies I see everywhere?
@Julia M. Usher - Now I'm worried, lol.
I found a recipe on a German speaking site: The main reason for cracking is when the dog cookies are not dry enough. They give the advice to put the cookies in a dehydrator before applying the yogurt icing and / or add some corn starch to it 
I have done extensive research on this. All the yogurt icings you see on dog treats, (where it dries like human cookie royal icing does) contains some form of sugar. They are just not always listing it outright or use other forms like maltodextrin or dextrose (which is just as bad as white sugar). They often will also use the terms, "yogurt icing, yogurt coating, yogurt frosting". None of which are just yogurt and most of which contain sugar or a form of sugar as the number 1 ingredient. If they have simply "yogurt" listed as the icing and it looks like typical sugar cookie icing - they are lying. I saw it a lot on Etsy.
Unfortunately, I don't think there is a way to get the look, design esthetics and preservation of royal icing for dog treats without using some form of sugar.
TammyHolmes posted:I have done extensive research on this. All the yogurt icings you see on dog treats, (where it dries like human cookie royal icing does) contains some form of sugar. They are just not always listing it outright or use other forms like maltodextrin or dextrose (which is just as bad as white sugar). They often will also use the terms, "yogurt icing, yogurt coating, yogurt frosting". None of which are just yogurt and most of which contain sugar or a form of sugar as the number 1 ingredient. If they have simply "yogurt" listed as the icing and it looks like typical sugar cookie icing - they are lying. I saw it a lot on Etsy.
Unfortunately, I don't think there is a way to get the look, design esthetics and preservation of royal icing for dog treats without using some form of sugar.
Thank you!
TammyHolmes posted:I have done extensive research on this. All the yogurt icings you see on dog treats, (where it dries like human cookie royal icing does) contains some form of sugar. They are just not always listing it outright or use other forms like maltodextrin or dextrose (which is just as bad as white sugar). They often will also use the terms, "yogurt icing, yogurt coating, yogurt frosting". None of which are just yogurt and most of which contain sugar or a form of sugar as the number 1 ingredient. If they have simply "yogurt" listed as the icing and it looks like typical sugar cookie icing - they are lying. I saw it a lot on Etsy.
Unfortunately, I don't think there is a way to get the look, design esthetics and preservation of royal icing for dog treats without using some form of sugar.
Thank you so much for your input, this will make me ask a lot more questions than I have before. It's so hard to know what is being put into what your dog eats. Now I know why I'm having such a hard time finding recipes.
Kimberlie posted:The fact that no one has made a comment tells me I'm in some pretty deep water. I ordered a dog icing just to try it and see what was in it. Love the result, don't like the ingredients. I'm not a trained baker, don't understand the science behind it much, wish I did but do ok with it. I put just plain yogurt which hardens but cracks and a recipe I found that uses tapioca flour but it cracked too. Decorated dog cookies are everywhere in the natural pet stores and advertise they are Yogurt. I am missing something here and would really love to make my dog and his play group fiends some good decorated cookies that won't make any of them sick. A photo is attached of my results. Anyone with some baking confection knowledge that can help would be great!
Hi Kimberlie, I have been working for over 3 years on creating the perfect dog icing that hardens, looks professional and made with real yogurt. First the ingredients in Fido icing they now use tapioca starch, maltdextrose and dextrose. I have done some experimenting with dextrose but the icing will not harden, ever! The one thing I found is there is no getting around using sugar in some form. If you are trying to find a safe alternative for sugar, whey low powder is amazing but hard to find and very expensive.
I have created an icing made from real yogurt: First I dry the yogurt for a few days using a cheese clothe to remove the excess water.
1. 2 table spoons of plain non fat yogurt. 2) 2 cups icing sugar. 3) 2-3 Tbls tapioca starch. 4) 2 Tsp egg white powder or meringue powder. 5)1/8th tsp guar gum.
Combine all the dry ingredients and sift together very well. Add dry mixture slowly to yogurt until you get thick paste. Add a few drops of water at a time till desired consistency. The tapioca spreads out easily so I recommend using a thicker texture then you would have with regular royal icing. It takes some experimenting to get the consistency you are happy working with. Here is a picture of the icing I make.
Thank you. I think I've decided that there is no way to get a good quality Yogurt icing for dogs without sugar. I am around a lot of dogs and don't want to put anything that can cause an allergy in them, plus sugar is terrible for dogs, especially artificial sugar. I do appreciate you sharing this because it tells me I'm not the only one trying to work on a better alternative.
Kimberlie posted:Thank you. I think I've decided that there is no way to get a good quality Yogurt icing for dogs without sugar. I am around a lot of dogs and don't want to put anything that can cause an allergy in them, plus sugar is terrible for dogs, especially artificial sugar. I do appreciate you sharing this because it tells me I'm not the only one trying to work on a better alternative.
I'd love to hear if a recipe is ever created
