white chocolate with paraffin wax. I use it and dip my 'cookies' and it hardens almost instantly. Make sure when you heat the white chocolate and wax you are using a pot about 2 cups full of simmering water with a pot above that which has the chocolate and wax in it, this way there is no direct heat and you will not burn it! Neither paraffin wax nor white chocolate are bad for dogs. I know you said you wanted to stay away from sugar, but i bet if you add paraffin wax to anything it will have that same hardening effect. Good luck!