Absolutely Adorable Homemade Animal Crackers Recipe

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Hi Bold Bakers!

Consider this Homemade Animal Crackers Recipe my homage to store-bought animal crackers—a long-time favorite for a lot of families, including my own! But this recipe is particularly special for me because it was my first time baking in the kitchen with George lending a helping hand! 

George (and I!) adore our Sprout’s Sous Chef Toddler Tower—I’m honestly sorry I didn’t get it sooner! He is climbing up and down the tower from morning to night to help his parents at the counter. I’ll sacrifice a banana, orange, or carrot and let him stand with us and chop it up. It’s really given us all hours of entertainment, and he loves having a job to do. 

These homemade animal crackers taste similar to a graham cracker because I include whole wheat and cinnamon, and George loves them! He gets them as a potty training reward—and I get them as a reward for helping potty train!

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

Making these easy-to-buy crackers are actually extremely easy-to-make at home too! Here is how you make homemade animal crackers (get the full, printable recipe with measurements below):

1. Cream the butter, sugar, and honey in a large bowl until they are well combined. Then, beat in the egg and vanilla.
2. Next, add the dry ingredients and mix to form a dough.
3. Wrap the dough in cling wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes. You can use the dough straight away, but I find it is a little easier to roll when it has chilled for a bit.
4. Preheat your oven to 350°F (180°C) and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
5. Roll half of your dough out on a floured surface until it is about 1/4-inch thick. 
6. Using Animal Cookie Cutters or any cookie cutters, cut out the dough into shapes. Place your crackers onto your prepared baking sheets.
7. Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until lightly golden brown around the edges. Allow them to cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet before enjoying! 

Gemma’s Pro Chef Tips For Making Homemade Animal Crackers

• Always have some crackers ready to bake! Make the dough, cut out the shapes, and freeze the cookies. Then, you can bake them off fresh in batches.
• I like the addition of whole wheat, but I don’t recommend using 100% whole wheat and no white flour as it will make for heavy dough.
• Here are the Animal Cookie Cutters that I used!

How Do I Store Homemade Animal Crackers?

Homemade animal crackers will keep fresh in an airtight container, at room temperature, for up to a week! See my note about always having some ready-to-bake by freezing the dough above! 

Try These Other Recipes!

• Homemade Chips Ahoy! Cookies Recipe
• Homemade Graham Crackers
• Homemade OREO Cookies Recipe
• Homemade Biscoff Cookies
• Homemade Digestive Biscuits

And don’t forget to buy my Bigger Bolder Baking Cookbook!

Full (and printable) recipe below!

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