Healthy Animal Crackers

This Heathy Animal Cracker post is sponsored by Edward and Sons. All thoughts are my own. Thank you so much for supporting brands that make The Fit Peach possible!

Tasty homemade animal crackers that will bring you right back to childhood! They have an almond flour base and are lightly sweetened with pure maple syrup. Each one is dipped in pink and white icing and dusted with rainbow sprinkles giving them the notorious look we know and love. These healthy animal crackers are sure to be a crowd hit!

What Makes These Heathy Animal Crackers so Good?

• Probably obvious but they are SO DARN CUTE! I used these zoo animal cookie cutters for this batch but this set is also down right adorable! Ps: can you pick out the 6 different animals in this batch? I tell ya what's what down below 🙂
• They are easy to make. We use a sugar cookie style dough and add touches of the typical animal cracker taste with cinnamon and black strap molasses
• The icing and sprinkles. Two things you simply cannot skip. The icing is a super simple royal icing naturally dyed pink and white so these healthy animal crackers resemble the classic

Healthy Animal Cracker Ingredients

egg (or flax egg to make vegan)

coconut oil

maple syrup

vanilla

molasses

almond flour

tapioca flour

cinnamon

baking powder

What is Tapioca Starch?

Tapioca starch is a natural thickener (similar to corn starch). I use it in a lot of my paleo and gluten-free recipes as it helps to take away some of the density of other gluten-free flours. It's thin and powdery and and has little to no taste. I used Let's Do Organic Tapioca Starch by Edward & Sons in this recipe! It's great for rolling out the dough too! Just sprinkle some on top of your counter and roll away!

How to Make Gluten-Free Animal Crackers

1. Prepare the dough. This recipe is based on my gluten-free Christmas Sugar Cookie recipe. It's fool-proof and easy to handle so even your kids can get in on the action! First, mix the wet ingredients together with a hand mixer or in a stand mixer
2. Fold in the dry ingredients and mix until a large ball of dough forms. The dough may be a tad sticky and this is okay! I like to place my dough in the fridge for at least 5 minutes which really helps in the rolling process
3. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface (I use extra tapioca flour). The trick with these animal crackers is that you want the dough fairly thick - like ½ inch thick. These are healthy animal crackers and not cookies after all! Use your cookie cutters to cut the animals out of the dough and bake
4. To ice, whisk together the powdered sugar, egg white, and water until you reach a semi-thick consistency. Divide the icing in half and dye one pink with natural food coloring. Dip the top half of each cracker in the icing to coat. Let the excess icing run off before placing it on a wired rack. Sprinkle with rainbow sprinkles while it's still wet.
5. Store dry animal crackers in an airtight container for up to a week!

Looking for more fun snack ideas? Check out these recipes!

• Nut-free Chocolate Granola Bars
• Strawberry Fig Newtons
• Edible Brownie Batter

Healthy Animal Crackers

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★★★★★

5 from 4 reviews

• Author: Ansley Beutler
• Prep Time: 20
• Cook Time: 10
• Total Time: 30 minutes
• Yield: 50 - 75 animal crackers 1x
• Diet: Gluten Free

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Description

Tasty homemade animal crackers that will bring you right back to childhood!  They have an almond flour base and are lightly sweetened with pure maple syrup.  Each one is dipped in pink and white icing and dusted with rainbow sprinkles giving them the notorious look we know and love.  These healthy animal crackers are sure to be a crowd hit!

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

For Crackers

• 1 egg (sub flax egg to make vegan)
• 2 Tbsp coconut oil, melted and cooled
• 3 Tbsp maple syrup
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp molasses
• 2 cups almond flour
• ¾ cup Let's Do Organic's Tapioca Starch (plus more for rolling out the dough)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp cinnamon

For the Icing

• 2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
• 1 Tbsp egg white (omit to make vegan and add extra Tbsp cold water)
• 3 - 4 Tbsp cold water
• Sprinkles to top

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Instructions

For the Crackers

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.  Using a stand mixer or a large bowl, beat the egg, coconut oil, maple syrup, vanilla, and molasses until well incorporated.  Slowly fold in the almond flour, tapioca flour, baking powder, and cinnamon until a large ball of dough forms.  Wrap dough in cling wrap and place in fridge for at least 5 mins (this makes it easier to roll out).
2. Meanwhile, sprinkle extra tapioca flour on a clean surface.  Place the chilled dough on top and begin to roll out to about ½ inch in thickness.  Use your cookie cutters to cut animal shapes out of the dough.  Transfer to a baking sheet and bake for 8 - 10 mins until golden brown.  Let cool before icing

For the Icing

1. In a large bowl or in a stand mixer, whisk together the powdered sugar, egg white, and 3 Tbsp cold water.  You want a semi-thick consistency for these crackers.  If the icing it too thick, thin it out with another Tbsp of cold water.  If it's too thin, add another ¼ cup powdered sugar
2. Divide the icing into two bowls.  Dye one bowl pink and leave the other one white.  Dip the top half of each cracker into the food coloring, let the excess icing run off, and flip over on a wire rack to dry.  Dust with sprinkles while the crackers are still wet.  Repeat with remaining crackers, alternating icing colors
3. Enjoy once dry or store in an airtight container for up a week

• Category: Cookies
• Method: Bake
• Cuisine: American

Keywords: Healthy Animal Crackers, Gluten-free Animal Crackers, Frosted Animal Crackers, Homemade Animal Crackers