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Hi Bold Bakers!
WHY YOU’LL LOVE THIS RECIPE: This Homemade Animal Crackers recipe brings back some of my favorite baking memories. As a professional baker and a mom, I love getting kids into the kitchen with recipes that are simple to make and delicious to eat. With everyday pantry staples, you can bake homemade animal crackers that taste fresher and better than the store-bought version.
- Made with simple ingredients: Pantry staples like honey, whole wheat flour, and cinnamon create a wholesome, lightly sweet flavor.
- Better than store-bought: Enjoy crisp, buttery crackers with ingredients you know and love.
- Easy to make: Mix the dough in minutes, then roll, cut, and bake fun animal shapes.
- Fun for the whole family: Kids love cutting out the animals and helping every step of the way.
- Freezer-friendly: Freeze the cut-out crackers and bake them fresh whenever you want a homemade snack.
This recipe will always be special to me because it was one of the first recipes George and I baked together. Watching him proudly cut out the little animal shapes reminded me that the best recipes aren’t always the fanciest—they’re the ones that bring everyone into the kitchen. I still love keeping these crackers in the freezer so we can bake a fresh batch whenever we want a fun homemade snack.
IMPORTANT NOTE: This recipe was improved and updated on 7/25/2026, to include an updated recipe description, refreshed introduction, clearer step-by-step instructions, enhanced Pro Chef Tips, and expanded make-ahead and storage instructions.
Table of Contents
- What Are Homemade Animal Crackers?
- Tools You Need
- How to Make Homemade Animal Crackers
- Gemma’s Pro Chef Tips
- Make-Ahead and Storage Instructions
- More Homemade Snack Recipes
What Are Homemade Animal Crackers?
Animal crackers are a classic staple in plenty of households with young children. They’re cutely shaped as circus or zoo animals, taste delicious, and are easy for little hands to hold onto. But if you check out the ingredients on the back, you may pause before giving them to your little one.
Making homemade means you know exactly what goes into your crackers—I use a combination of sugar, honey, vanilla, AP flour, whole wheat flour, and cinnamon. Plus, you get the experience of making a wonderful treat together! Oh, and did I mention that these are BIGGER Animal Crackers than normal?
Tools You Need
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Animal Cookie Cutters or any cookie cutters
- Mixing bowls
- Cling wrap
- Parchment paper
- 2 baking sheets
How To Make Homemade Animal Crackers
To Make the Homemade Animal Cracker Dough
- Cream the butter and sugar: In a medium mixing bowl, use a whisk (or an electric hand mixer) to cream together the butter, sugar, and honey until well combined.
- Add the wet ingredients: Add the egg and vanilla, and continue whisking until smooth.
- Mix in the dry ingredients: In a separate bowl, combine the all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, baking powder, and cinnamon, then mix this into the butter mixture. (You might need to get in there with your hands and knead the dough just until it comes together.)
- Chill the dough: Shape the dough into a flattened disc, wrap it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes. (You can use it right away, but it’s easier to roll once chilled.)
To Roll and Cut the Homemade Animal Crackers
- Roll out the dough: On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough to a ¼-inch (6 mm) thickness.
- Cut out the crackers: Using animal cookie cutters (or any cookie cutters of your choice), cut the dough into shapes. Place the crackers 1 inch (3 cm) apart on the prepared baking sheets. Re-roll the scraps and continue cutting more cookies.
To Bake the Homemade Animal Crackers
- Preheat the oven: Preheat the oven to 325°F (165°C) with fan assist. (Without a fan, bake at 350°F /180°C and rotate the trays halfway through baking for even browning.)
- Bake until lightly golden: Bake for 12–15 minutes, or until the crackers are lightly golden around the edges.
- Cool and store: Let the crackers cool on the baking sheets for at least 5 minutes before enjoying. Store the cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 7 days.
Gemma’s Pro Chef Tips
- Use soft butter: Let your butter come fully to room temperature so it creams easily with the sugar and honey for a smooth, even dough.
- Don’t overmix the dough: Mix just until the dough comes together. Overworking it can make the crackers tougher instead of tender and crisp.
- Chill before rolling: Refrigerating the dough for 30 minutes makes it easier to roll, cut cleanly, and transfer the shapes without stretching.
- Keep extra dough cold: Leave the second half of the dough in the refrigerator while you work. Cold dough is much easier to roll and cut into neat shapes.
- Reroll the scraps: Gather and reroll any leftover dough to cut more crackers. If it becomes too soft, refrigerate it for 15 minutes before rolling again.
- Freeze for later: Cut out the crackers, freeze them in a single layer on a parchment-lined tray, then transfer them to an airtight container for up to 2 months. Bake straight from frozen, adding 1–2 extra minutes if needed.
- Bake until lightly golden: The crackers are ready when the edges turn lightly golden. They’ll continue to crisp up as they cool, so avoid overbaking.
- Store them properly: Keep the cooled crackers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week to maintain their crisp texture.
Make-Ahead and Storage Instructions
Make Ahead
- Refrigerate the dough: Wrap the dough tightly and refrigerate for up to 2 days before rolling and cutting.
- Freeze the cut-out crackers: Arrange the unbaked crackers in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet and freeze until solid. Transfer them to an airtight container or freezer bag and freeze for up to 2 months. Bake straight from frozen, adding 1–2 minutes to the baking time if needed.
Storage
- Room temperature: Store the cooled Animal Crackers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week. They stay crisp and make a great grab-and-go snack.
- Refresh if needed: If the crackers lose a little crispness after storing, bake them in a 300°F (150°C) oven for 3–5 minutes, then let them cool completely before serving. They’ll crisp right back up.
Try These Other Recipes!
- Homemade Chips Ahoy! Cookies Recipe
- Homemade Graham Crackers
- Homemade OREO Cookies Recipe
- Homemade Biscoff Cookies
- Homemade Digestive Biscuits
IMPORTANT NOTE: This recipe was improved and updated on 7/25/2026, to include an updated recipe description, refreshed introduction, clearer step-by-step instructions, enhanced Pro Chef Tips, and expanded make-ahead and storage instructions.
Try These Recipes!
Watch The Recipe Video!
Homemade Animal Crackers Recipe
My Homemade Animal Crackers recipe makes crisp, lightly sweet crackers with pantry staples that taste better than store-bought.
Servings: 25 cookies
My Homemade Animal Crackers recipe makes crisp, lightly sweet crackers with pantry staples that taste better than store-bought.
Servings: 25 cookies
Ingredients
Homemade Animal Crackers Recipe
- 9 tablespoons (4 ½ oz/129 g) butter, softened
- ¼ cup (2 oz/57 g) granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup (5 oz/142 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 cup (5 oz/142 g) whole wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
How to Make the Homemade Animal Crackers Dough
- In a medium mixing bowl with a whisk (or an electric hand mixer), cream together the butter, sugar and honey until well combined.
- Add the egg and vanilla, and continue to whisk until smooth.
- In a separate bowl, combine the all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, baking powder and cinnamon, then mix this into your butter mixture. (You might need to get in there with your hands and knead it just until it comes together)
- Shape the dough into a flattened disc, wrap in cling wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes. (You can use it straight away but it's a little easier to roll when it has chilled for a bit.)
To Roll and cut the Homemade Animal Crackers
- On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to a ¼-inch (6 mm) thickness.
- Using Animal Cookie Cutters (or any cookie cutters of your choice) cut out the dough into shapes. Place the crackers 1-inch (3 cm) apart onto the prepared baking sheets. Re-roll scraps and continue to cut more cookies .
To Bake Homemade Animal Crackers
- Pre-heat the oven to 325°F (165°C) Fan assist. (without a fan bake at 350°F (180°C) and rotate the trays for even baking.
- Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until lightly golden brown around the edges.
- Let cool for at least 5 minutes on the baking sheets before enjoying. Stored cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 7 days.
Recipe Notes
- Use soft butter: Let your butter come fully to room temperature so it creams easily with the sugar and honey for a smooth, even dough.
- Don't overmix the dough: Mix just until the dough comes together. Overworking it can make the crackers tougher instead of tender and crisp.
- Chill before rolling: Refrigerating the dough for 30 minutes makes it easier to roll, cut cleanly, and transfer the shapes without stretching.
- Keep extra dough cold: Leave the second half of the dough in the refrigerator while you work. Cold dough is much easier to roll and cut into neat shapes.
- Reroll the scraps: Gather and reroll any leftover dough to cut more crackers. If it becomes too soft, refrigerate it for 15 minutes before rolling again.
- Freeze for later: Cut out the crackers, freeze them in a single layer on a parchment-lined tray, then transfer them to an airtight container for up to 2 months. Bake straight from frozen, adding 1–2 extra minutes if needed.
- Bake until lightly golden: The crackers are ready when the edges turn lightly golden. They'll continue to crisp up as they cool, so avoid overbaking.
- Store them properly: Keep the cooled crackers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week to maintain their crisp texture.
We made these and my kiddos loved them! I dipped the bottoms of some of them in melted chocolate! I think they turned out slightly dry though so I’m not to sure if I used to much flour. Going to make them again though!
Can the whole wheat flour be substituted for oat flour? If so is it a 1:1 substitution?
Most fun I’ve had baking in awhile! Recipe was super simple to put together. The dough formed nicely and these baked off just right. Can’t wait to share with my favorite toddler, but these are a fave for the adults in the house too.
This is such a precious video. Georgie is such a cutie. He reminds me of my blond blue-eyed son. ❤️
This cookies came out so delicious and sooo easy to make. I suggest using high quality ingredients for superb flavor and results. On some added Dutch cocoa, sprinkles, and
These look lovely! Cookie cutting stamps, as you said, are adorable (just like your little sous chef????)! I’m thinking of getting some stamps for my 1yr cousin, should be great????
Second time making these but this time I put cocoa and a medium banana. My kids love these crackers! Ice cream cone shaped crackers.
He is adorable. Applause to you!
Awesome video .. Georgie is too cute. Hey maybe with the extra vanilla he created a new animal cracker recipe.
he is beautiful!, and so big already.