Animal Crackers!

I remember when I was in preschool I would get animal crackers as a snack and I would play with them until I got told to stop playing with my food… Seriously? These cookies are in the shape of animals and they are telling kids not to play with their food? How crazy is that?

By all means you can play with these fun little guys. In fact, I would encourage it!

However, they are really good to snack on and gluten free so there may not be any left for you to play with… Totally okay, too!

I also remember when my mom would pull out the frosted animal crackers . She didn’t get them all that often but when she did I was so excited! They were pink (just like these!), which was my favorite color when I was a kid so I had already loved them without even had them yet. However, you will love these little guys probably without the icing! They have such a great flavor.

Gluten Free Animal Crackers

2 sticks of Butter at Room Temperature
1/3 cup Coconut Palm Sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp Vanilla ( I used Vanilla Bean Paste to give it a little extra flavor)
2 cups Brown Rice Flour
1 cup Tapioca Starch
1 1/2 tsp Xanthan Gum
1 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
Pinch of Nutmeg (I used fresh grated)

Make sure you have some small cookie cutters in the shape of animals (or small shapes are fine too!). These found here are great! Ateco 10 Piece Animal Cutter Set

Preheat oven to 350 degree Fahrenheit.

Mix together your brown rice flour, tapioca starch, xanthan gum, baking powder, salt and nutmeg and set aside. In the bottom of a mixing bowl or stand mixer mix together butter and sugar. Then add in 2 eggs and the vanilla. Then add in your dry ingredients. Mix until combined. Chill the dough for about 10 minutes. Then Roll your dough out until it is between 1/4 and an 1/8 of a inch. Take your cookie cutters to get your shapes. Use a spatula to move from the mat with the dough to a cookie sheet covered in parchment paper. Use as much of the dough as you can to get as many animal crackers!

Bake for 8-10 minutes. Set aside and let cool completely. If you want to ice your cookies take about 2 cups of powders sugar and mix 1-2 Tbsp of milk and add in some food coloring (just a few drops). I use red to make a pink. You want your icing to be slightly runny so that you can just quickly pour over the animal crackers. Pour over and sprinkle some sprinkles or nonpareils on top! Let them dry and enjoy!

YUM!!!!!!

Sounds so good, right?

The plain animal crackers are great to dunk in your coffee in the morning when you want something small to eat. It is also a great way for grown up to eat these animal crackers and still feel like somewhat of an adult. Yeah you will be seeing me bringing a baggy of these to work, the park, or even sneaking them into the movies to enjoy. They are just so yummy and the perfect snack to have around for school lunches, snacks, family park days or they are even great to take on hikes!

The dogs are slightly in love with them too. They love how small they are and they are super soft as well! The fresh nutmeg makes a real difference in the taste however, ground nutmeg is just fine. While these animal crackers are baking you can smell the aroma through the house and it makes you feel all warm and fuzzy in side. It;s the nutmeg I promise!