Something amusing happened on Monday night. As we were climbing into bed, Mr. How Sweet launched into a long, earnest craving for sweets — cookies, brownies, cake — none of which we had. For a full ten minutes he fixated on animal crackers. It felt like our roles had reversed: I just wanted to sleep while he couldn’t stop talking about food. Now I understand how he feels every night.
Then he asked if I could make animal crackers. I’m always up for a challenge.
Plus, aren’t these the most adorable little cookies you’ve ever seen?
There was something genuinely fun about making these cookie-crackers. Maybe it was the novelty of a new recipe, the joy of using tiny cookie cutters, or simply the fact that I ate more dough than I should have. I was surprised to learn that many homemade animal cracker recipes include oats — I’m not sure whether the commercial boxed versions do, but oats were in every homemade version I found.
I used half whole wheat flour to make them a touch healthier, though that didn’t matter much since I knew Mr. How Sweet would happily eat the whole batch. As much as I love mini foods, I’m pretty sure eating sixty-eight animal crackers cancels out any attempt at portion control.
The tiny animal cutters I used are a Noah’s Ark set by Wilton — they’re ridiculously small and completely charming.
Hello, Mr. Elephant. You’re so cute I almost felt guilty eating you.
And eat them I did — more than once. I won’t lie.
We really liked the cookies, but here are a few things to keep in mind:
- They are not very sweet. If you want a sugary animal cracker, this isn’t it.
- They’re not completely crunchy either — crisp on the outside with a slightly tender center. Just right.
- They’re best with a small dab of something sweet on top — a little frosting or glaze makes them perfect.
Mr. How Sweet piled a plate high, dipped them in frosting, and enjoyed them with a diet Coke. For once, he didn’t munch them over the sink.
Homemade Animal Crackers
Adapted slightly from Allrecipes
1/2 cup oats
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup butter, softened
4 tablespoons buttermilk
Preheat the oven to 400°F (205°C).
Grind the oats in a food processor or blender. Combine the ground oats with both flours, salt, and baking soda. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture forms small crumbs. Add the honey, vanilla, and buttermilk, mixing until a dough comes together.
Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes. After chilling, lightly flour your work surface and roll out the dough to your desired thickness. Cut into shapes and arrange on a baking sheet.
Baking time varies with cutter size and thickness; the mini crackers baked in roughly 4–5 minutes each. Watch closely so they don’t overbrown.
I decorated a few with frosting — at first I planned to share, but I ate them all before he got home. I also tried recreating the pink glazed frosting that comes on store-bought iced animal crackers but didn’t find an exact match after a long search. If you’ve got a recipe that duplicates that nostalgic pink glaze, I’d love to hear it.