Homemade Animal Crackers

The BraveTart baking book by Stella Parks continues to be a revelation.  I’ve written about my obsession with her Devil’s Food Cake and her homemade Vanilla Wafers.  Buried all the way on page 199 might be my favorite recipe of hers. This recipe for Homemade Animal Crackers is a dead ringer for the animal crackers that come in those red cartons.  I’ve made this animal cracker recipe for at least three baby showers and they are honestly always a hit.  

I will warn you now that this recipe is kind of fussy.  You need special ingredients that you might need to order online in advance and a well stocked kitchen.  Once you have everything that you need, these animal crackers are a breeze to make.

Jump to:

• Ingredients
• Kitchen Equipment: 
• How to make Homemade Animal Crackers
• Baker's Tip #1
• Baker's Tip #2
• Storage
• Baby Shower Cookie Box Pairings
• Homemade Nostalgia 
• Recipe

Ingredients

• All Purpose Flour
• Yellow Cornmeal
• Baking soda
• Kosher salt
• Unsalted Butter
• Egg Yolks 
• Vanilla Extract

Special Ingredients: 

Freeze Dried Corn: The BraveTart recipe calls for freeze dried corn that is ground into a fine yellow powder using a food processor.  I was not able to find freeze dried corn in the grocery stores near me.  You can buy freeze dried corn on Amazon.

Malted Milk Powder:  Malted Milk Powder was originally created to provide nutrients to infants. but is more well known for its inclusion in chocolate milkshakes and movie theater candy. Malted milk powder isn’t as hard to find as the freeze dried corn.  You may have luck at your local “nicer” grocery store chain.  For example, I once found Malted Milk Powder in my local Publix, in the aisle with the chocolate syrup and Ovaltine.   

Kitchen Equipment: 

• Food Processor.  The food processor is mandatory for this recipe. If you don’t have a food process, you might be able to use a high power blender, like a Vitamix.   It’s necessary to grind the freeze-dried corn into a smooth powder.  From there the rest of the animal cracker dough comes together rather quickly. 
• Cookie Plungers or Cookie Stamps.   I bought this set on Amazon, because the Zoo animals are the original theme.  But you can use any plungers or stamps that you want that are around 2 inches in size.  There are so many cute options. 
• Rolling Pin.  Once the dough has a chance to chill, you’ll need the rolling pin to roll the animal crackers into an even layer before using the cookie plungers. 
• Offset Spatula. An offset spatula will help you move the punched cookies from one surface to the next without breaking them. 
• Measuring spoons/ cups
• Two large cookie sheets
• Parchment paper
• Plastic Wrap

How to make Homemade Animal Crackers

Even though we need fancy ingredients and a decent amount of equipment, the animal cracker dough is really easy to make. 

• First you need to grind the freeze-dried corn into a corn powder.  From there, add the rest of the dry ingredients into the bowl of the food processor and pulse a couple times to combine.  
• Cut the butter into 1-inch pieces and add them to the bowl of the food processor.  Pulse a few times until combined.  Then pour in the eggs and vanilla extra and run the food processor until the dough comes together. 
• Turn the dough out onto a clean counter and gently knead it a couple of times into a smooth ball.  Wrap the cookie dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour; up to four days. 
• Preheat the oven to 350ºF and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. 
• Lightly dust the countertop with flour. Roll the animal cracker dough to about ½ inch thickness.  Dip the cookie plunger into the dough and cut out the animal shapes. Use an offset spatula to move the crackers from the counter to the prepared cookie sheet.  Repeat until you run out of dough. 
• Bake for about 12 minutes, until the edges are just browned. Let animal crackers cool directly on the cookie sheet. 

Storage

Animal crackers have a very long shelf life.  Store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a month.

Baby Shower Cookie Box Pairings

As I said at the beginning, I have included these animal crackers in the last couple of cookie boxes that I sent out.  Here are some other cookies that when paired together make a beautiful gift.

Homemade Nostalgia 

Want more iconic bakes? Here are some other homemade versions of nostalgia recipes to try.

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