I thought I would let you know April 18 National Animal Crackers Day #NationalAnimalCrackers if your going to prepare a #Easter dinner this weekend why not let the kids make Animal Cookies for dessert. You can Frost the Animal Cookies or leave the Animal Cookies Un-Frosted.
When I go shopping this evening I’m going pick up Animal Cookies for David and I this evening. Should I get BARNUM’S Original Animal Crackers we grew up on. Or MOTHER’S Original Circus Animal Frosted Cookies and why?
If your #Homeschooling your children cook can count as a class. Let you children make Homemade Animal Cookies using these Cookie Cutters. Remember kids don’t have to be Homeschooling to learn to cook which is a good bonding experience and something all kids should learn.
Charlie started cooking when he was 2. Then when Charlie was 4 we signed Charlie ups for Cooking Classes at the Recreation Center in Hurst. Charlie still talks about the classes and what he learned and we make those recipes to this day.
I have a question for you. Who among us can resist the temptation to indulge in a handful of the iconic treats of our childhood as we celebrate National Animal Cracker Day on April 18? Animal crackers are arguably one of the best-recognized food products on the Planet today.
Who knew that the little menagerie of Zoo and Circus creatures that delighted us as children would later become one of our fondest childhood memories and a simple guilty pleasure for us as adults? I did because Animal Cookies are amazing. Aren’t they?
Animal Crackers have been part of American childhood memories since the late 1800s when Animal Crackers were first imported from England where Animal Crackers were invented. When recipes for the popular Animal-shaped Biscuits made their way to America, independent bakers began baking up herds of the Animals to meet growing demand.
The stampede of Animal Crackers out of Grocery Cracker Barrels into American shopping baskets was well underway when Stauffer’s Biscuit Company began commercially producing their original recipe Circus Crackers in 1871.
Stauffer’s unique baking process created a slightly sweet, crispy, cracker-like Biscuit that dominated the growing Animal Cracker category for years. Then, in 1902, the big competition arrived that transformed the Animal Cracker industry forever.
Although not first to market with Animal Crackers in America, when the National Biscuit Company, Nabisco, introduced their brand of Animal Crackers packaged in small boxes that looked like P.T. Barnum Circus Train Cars, they quickly became the most popular brand of Animal Crackers in America.
Their Circus-Train-themed packages were initially sold as Christmas Tree Ornaments. The colorful boxes sporting exotic Animals in Circus Train Cars with a string for hanging on the Christmas Tree were an immediate hit with children who begged for boxes of Animals to carry around by a string.
When all the Animals in a box had been devoured, children filled the Circus car boxes with childhood treasures, creating an unexpected shelf life extension and bonus marketing for the Barnum’s Animals brand.
Not all Animal Crackers are created equal, and despite the popularity and fast ascension of Nabisco’s Barnum’s Animals to the iconic childhood Cookie, many people still preferred the original Stauffer’s Animal Crackers recipe. The difference in texture and flavor between the two brands is distinctive, and there remains a continued strong market for both brands of Animal Crackers to this day.
Stauffer’s Biscuit Company still produces Original Animal Crackers using the original 1871 recipe. Their strategy has been to produce a consistently crisp, layered Dough Cracker that is more like a traditional English Biscuit, and less sweet than a Cookie.
Did you know Nabisco still produces its colorful, wild Animal-themed, small-carton packaging that appeals to young children. Nabisco’s Animal Crackers are a little sweeter and softer in texture than a Cracker or Biscuit.
Some Animal Cracker aficionados would argue that Nabisco’s Barnum’s Animal Crackers are actually Animal Cookies, not Crackers. What do you think Cookies or Crackers and why? My family sayd there Coookies.
Did you know Nabisco changed the name of their product from Barnum’s Animals to Barnum’s Animal Crackers in 1948, a move probably not necessary to remain the category leader as is evidenced by the product’s fast rise to fame and continued appeal to children.
Whether you prefer the crispy Biscuit-like Crackers or the sweeter, softer Cookie-like variety, on National Animal Crackers Day, we’re of the notion that the more Animals in the parade, the merrier. We’re not sure exactly when Animal Crackers were first commemorated with their own special date on the calendar, but on National Animal Crackers Day we are all-in and all about Animal Crackers on parade.
National Animal Cracker Day Activities
- Instead of penny-ante poker, why not raise the stakes in today’s game and play for Animal Crackers?
- If you want to spread love and see smiles break out on National Animal Crackers Day, greet everyone you meet today with a little box of Animal Crackers. Don’t forget to treat yourself.
- I have a question for you. Have you ever wondered which beverages pair best with Animal Crackers? National Animal Crackers Day is a good day to investigate with some good old-fashioned unscientific research. Start your day by dunking a few Lions, Tigers, and Bears in your morning cup of Coffee. Then dunk abundantly throughout the day using Water, Tea, Milk, Lemonade, Cold Brew. After a day of delicious dunking, conclude it with the last of your Animal friends dunked in your favorite adult beverage. Red Wine pairs particularly well with the original Biscuit-type Crackers. Post your results on Social Media.
Facts About Animal Crackers
- In the 1935 movie “Curly Top,” adorable round-faced child movie star Shirley Temple sang about Animal Crackers in her Soup, including “Monkeys and Rabbits,. Rabbits have never been featured in Animal Crackers that were aware of.
- Boxes of Nabisco Barnum’s Animal Crackers have featured 37 different Animals over the years. Nabisco’s menagerie currently includes 19 different Animals, with the last addition being the Koala.
- For those of us who have trouble discerning Animals by Cracker shape alone, there is help Stauffer’s Biscuit Company has a “Biscuit Animal Identifier” page on their website with photos of the different Animals they currently produce.
- According to Stauffer’s Biscuit Company, the tiny holes in their Animal Crackers are called ‘dockers,’ which allow air to escape the Crackers during the rising process, helping the Crackers to retain the Animal shape.
- Under pressure from Animal activist group PETA, Nabisco retired its nostalgic Circus-Train-themed box in 2016 and replaced it with a new theme that debuted in 2018.
Why People Love National Animal Cracker Day
Most of us have a parade of Animal Crackers on a plate or in the iconic Circus-themed box floating among our sweetest childhood memories. Animal Crackers make us smile as we are reminded of less complicated, simpler days of our childhood.
Animal Crackers are the quintessential snack and Animal Crackers have a dependable crunch and Animal Crackers are not too sweet but just sweet enough to satisfy your sweet tooth.
While “dunkability” may not be a word in the dictionary, we love the original recipe for Animal Crackers for their dunkability, anyway. Animal Crackers dunk equally well in Coffee, Tea, Milk, and Red Wine. Animal Crackers absorb just enough liquid without getting soggy and falling apart.
Recipe for Animal Crackers
Ingredients
½ cup rolled oats
¾ cup all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ cup butter
2 teaspoons honey
¼ cup buttermilk
Directions
Bake for 5 to 7 minutes in the preheated oven, until edges are lightly browned. Remove from cookie sheets to cool on wire racks.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grind oats until fine using a blender or food processor.
In a medium bowl, stir together the blended oats, flour, baking soda and salt. Cut in the butter using a pastry blender or your fingers until the butter lumps are smaller than peas. Stir in the buttermilk and honey to form a stiff dough. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to 1/8 inch in thickness. Cut into desired shapes with cookie cutters. Place cookies 1 inch apart onto cookie sheets.
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
