Homemade Animal Crackers.

A funny thing happened on Monday night. As we were climbing into bed, Mr. How Sweet was detailing his intense craving for sweets. He was begging for cookies and brownies and cake, none of which we had. Then he talked about animal crackers for a good 10 minutes. It was like our roles had reversed. I just wanted to sleep, and he wouldn’t shut up about food. Now I know how he feels every night.

Then he asked if I could make animal crackers. I’m always up for a challenge.

Plus, are these not the most adorable things you’ve ever seen?

There was something fun about making the cookies slash crackers. I’m not sure if it was because it was a new-to-me recipe, or because I was using teeny, tiny cookie cutters, or because I ate so much dough that I tricked myself into thinking it was fun.

And I had no idea that animal crackers were made with oats. Well, I have no clue if the boxed variety are made with oats, but every homemade recipe I found was.

I also used half whole wheat flour in an effort to make them a bit healthier. Not that it really mattered since I knew Mr. How Sweet would eat the entire batch. As much as I love mini food, I’m pretty sure eating 68 animal crackers cancels out any attempt at portion control.

The mini animal cookie cutters are a Noah’s Arc set by Wilton. If you couldn’t already tell, I’m basically obsessed with them. They are so tiny.

Hello, Mr. Elephant. You are just so cute that I could eat you.

And eat you I did. About 10 times over. I’m sorry.

We loved the cookies, but there are a few things to note.

• They are not sweet. If you are looking for a sweet animal cracker, this is not for you.
• They are not exactly crunchy either. Crunchy on the outside and just a little soft on the inside. Perfect.
• The are best when covered in something extremely sugary. But just a little dollop.

Mr. How Sweet made himself a plate piled high with animal crackers, dipped them in frosting, and had a diet Coke on the side. But for once, he didn’t eat them over the sink.

Homemade Animal Crackers

slightly changed 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 oven to 400 degrees.

Grind oats (I used a food processor, you can use a blender) and add flours, salt and baking soda. Add butter and pulse until small crumbles remain. Add honey, vanilla and buttermilk, and mix until a dough forms.

Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Once chilled, flour surface and roll out dough. Cut cookies and place on a baking sheet.

Baking times will depend on the size of the cutter you are using and the thickness of the cookie. I baked these mini crackers for 4-5 minutes each.

I decorated a few for myself. Well, initially I decorated them for both of us. But I ate them all before he got home.  And then I had an issue with the frosting. Oh well. All I really want is to recreate that pink glazed frosting that comes on the bagged iced animal crackers. Anyone have a recipe *exactly* like that? My 2 hour search came up short.

Tagged as: cookies, recipes