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Original post published August 23rd, 2018. Post last updated on May 9th, 2024.
Decorated with pink and white frosting and a generous helping of nonpareil sprinkles, these homemade animal cookies offer an easy-to-make version of store-bought frosted animal crackers. A classic childhood treat!
Why Do I Love These Homemade Animal Cookies?
Confession: I’m a grown adult who loves animal cookies.
The plain kind taste just fine, and I’ll happy accept a handful of the crunchy, thinly-iced variety, but nothing beats the pink-and-white frosted circus animal cookies with nonpareil sprinkles. (You know, the ones that come in a pink and purple bag?)
I recently had a craving for these sweet childhood treats, but alas, like some of my other favorites (looking at you, candy corn and oatmeal cream pies!), I’ve never spotted frosted animal cookies in the UK. So, I thought I’d give this recipe an update, and make myself some treats in the process.
I had way too much fun baking and decorating these adorable miniature circus animal cookies. They’re slightly larger than the store-bought kind, and I opted for pink and white nonpareils rather than rainbow, but in terms of nostalgia, these definitely hit the spot.
Special Ingredients for Making Homemade Animal Cookies
In addition to cookie-making staples (butter, flour, baking soda, eggs, granulated sugar) you’ll need the following ingredients to prepare these homemade frosted animal crackers:
- Vanilla Bean Paste – For flavoring the frosting. You can use extract, but paste really highlights the vanilla flavor. Alternately, you can use almond extract, or another extract of your choice, to flavor the frosting.
- Confectioner’s Sugar – To make the frosting. Start with 200 grams (about 1 1/2 cups), but keep a little bit extra on hand to adjust the consistency of the icing as desired.
- Light Corn Syrup – Corn syrup adds sheen and viscosity to the frosting. You can substitute liquid glucose or Karo syrup.
- Pink Gel Food Coloring – I used Chefmaster‘s Neon Brite Pink.
- Pink and White Nonpareils – Or, try white nonpareils or rainbow nonpareils instead.
Animal Cookie Recipe Tips and Tricks
When making the frosting, take time to sift the confectioner’s sugar. If your sugar contains lumps or clumps, you’ll see lumps in the finished frosting, too.
To incorporate the dry ingredients into the butter mixture, use a hand or stand mixer to mix on low speed until just barely combined. Then, use your hands to bring the dough together—in testing, I found this method easier than continuing to mix with the mixer, and with less risk of overworking the dough.
Dipping the cookies in icing might require a few “test cookies” to get the hang of things. For best results, dip just the top of the cookie in the frosting, then lift it upward and allow the extra to drip back into the bowl. You can also scrape the top of the cookie against the rim of the bowl to remove any excess, and/or use a butter knife or small stepped palette knife to distribute the icing evenly across the top of the cookie. And work quickly to add the sprinkles! This is a hard icing, and it sets quickly.
Notes on Chilling the Dough
In this recipe, you’ll make the dough and roll it between sheets of parchment, then transfer it to the refrigerator to chill.
Many animal cookie recipes instruct you to chill the dough then roll and cut, but after extensive testing, I’d recommend against this method. The chilled dough is extremely difficult to roll straight out of the fridge—thus, you’ll need to allow the dough to come up to room temperature before rolling, then roll and chill again, which ends up taking longer. You’ll also run the risk of overworking the dough.
After cutting, I’ve instructed you to freeze the cookies for 15 minutes—don’t skip this step! Freezing helps the animals to retain their shape as they bake. I used small (13 x 9), freezer-friendly trays for this recipe. If your trays don’t fit in the freezer, you can stack the cut-out cookies between squares of parchment and freeze the stacks instead.
Choosing Your Cookie Cutters
To make these homemade animal cookies, you will (of course!) need a set of animal cookie cutters. I tested this recipe using this set of embossing cutters with plunger stamps.
When I make this recipe again, I might opt for a set of metal cookie cutters, like these or these, instead. Although cute, the embossed features don’t hold their shape very well, even though I pressed the plunger pretty firmly! After baking, the embossing looked like this:
In addition, the frosting and sprinkles cover the embossed decoration anyway, so it doesn’t really add much to this particular recipe. However, I do love these cute cutters, and will definitely use them to create fondant decorations.
Also, note that the recipe yield will vary depending on the size of your cutters. Each of my embossed cutters measures approximately 2 – 2 1/2 inches in size, and I ended up with about 30 cookies. If you use smaller or larger animals, you’ll have more (or less) cookies. If you use very small cutters, you’ll also need to reduce the baking time accordingly.
Make-Ahead and Storage Suggestions
If desired, you can prepare the cookie dough 24 hours in advance. I suggest following the steps as written, up to and including rolling the dough between parchment, then transferring the rolled dough to the refrigerator until ready to use.
For another make-ahead option, you can cut the dough into shapes, layer between squares of parchment (the pre-cut kind are great to keep on hand for things like this!), and freeze the unbaked cookies until ready to use. Baked, unfrosted animal cookies can also be frozen for up to one month. I don’t recommend freezing the frosted cookies.
Other cookie recipes you might enjoy:
Rainbow Heart Cookies
Lemon Daisy Slice and Bake Cookies
Lavender Lemon Cookies
Homemade Oatmeal Cream Pies
And if you do make these, or if you make any of my recipes, don’t forget to tag me @bastecutfold or use the hashtag #bastecutfold on Instagram. I always love to see what you’re making!
Print
Animal Cookies with Frosting and Sprinkles
- Total Time: 2 hours
- Yield: Approx. 30 2-2 1/2-inch animal cookies
Description
Decorated with pink and white frosting and a generous helping of nonpareil sprinkles, these homemade animal cookies offer an easy-to-make version of a classic childhood treat!
Ingredients
Cookies:
272 grams all purpose flour (2 1/8 cups)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
154 grams unsalted butter, softened (1/2 cup + 3 tablespoons)
105 grams granulated sugar (1/2 cup)
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
Icing:
200 grams confectioner’s sugar (1 1/2 cups)
30 milliliters whole milk (2 tablespoons)
20 grams light corn syrup (1 tablespoon)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch fine sea salt
Pink food coloring (I used neon brite pink)
To decorate:
Pink and white nonpareils
Instructions
Method:
Line a large baking tray, or several smaller trays, with parchment or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together all purpose flour, baking soda, and kosher salt.
In a separate bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, whip butter on high speed until soft and fluffy.
Add the granulated sugar and mix on high speed until well combined.
Mix in the egg and the vanilla bean paste.
Add the dry ingredients and mix on low until just combined. Use your hands to finish bringing the mixture together, forming a soft dough.
Flatten the dough into a disc and place it between two sheets of parchment.
With a rolling pin, roll to 1/4-inch thickness.
Place on a tray and transfer to the refrigerator to chill for 30 minutes.
Peel away the top sheet of parchment.
With animal cookie cutters, cut the dough. Transfer to prepared tray.
Re-roll scraps and repeat with remaining dough.
Place tray(s) in the freezer to chill for 15 minutes. (If your trays do not fit in the freezer, you can stack the cut cookies between squares of parchment and chill the stacks instead.) Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350° F / 176° C.
Bake chilled cookies in preheated oven for 10-12 minutes, or until lightly golden brown around the edges. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool.
Icing:
Sift the confectioner’s sugar into a medium bowl.
Whisk in the whole milk, followed by the corn syrup, vanilla extract, and sea salt.
Pour half of the icing into a separate bowl. Add a few drops of pink gel food coloring to one bowl.
Decoration:
Line a tray with parchment or wax paper. Sit a wire rack over top.
Carefully dip the tops of the cookies in the frosting, scraping gently against the rim of the bowl to remove any excess. (You can also use a butter knife or small stepped palette knife to distribute the icing evenly across the top of the cookie.)
Transfer frosted animal cookies to prepared rack, icing side up. Sprinkle with pink and white nonpareils.
Allow cookies to sit at room temperature, uncovered, until icing sets.
Store leftover cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to three days.
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Chilling Time: 45 minutes (divided)
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
- Category: Biscuits and Cookies
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: Desserts