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These homemade Sourdough Animal Crackers are somewhere between a shortbread cookie and a sourdough graham cracker. They are crisp, lightly sweetened and finished with hints of cinnamon and vanilla. Made with simple ingredients, these crackers come together fairly quickly and can be cut out in a variety of fun shapes and sizes.
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Let your kids’ imaginations soar as they munch on their favorite animals, making snack time so fun! It’s a great grab-and-go option for the kids to eat on the road or at home with minimal cleanup. Plus, it is a fun activity to do with kids. It’s a win-win!
“These are great and so easy to make!! Thank you so much for sharing, my son is obsessed” -Brittany
Why you will love this recipe
- Kid-approved homemade snack – Just like my Sourdough Goldfish and Sourdough Mini Muffins, these Sourdough Animal Crackers are kid-approved and perfect for an afternoon snack or lunch boxes.
- Egg-free – These Sourdough Animal Crackers are an egg-free snack, similar to my Sourdough Cheez-its, making them a great allergy-friendly option.
- Crispy texture – Similar to Sourdough Graham Crackers, this recipe makes crisp crackers with a satisfying crunch.
Important Ingredients and Substitutions
- Sourdough discard– ideally, your sourdough discard should be a little older that way it is flat when you use it. You can swap for active sourdough starter as well.
- Maple Syrup- You can also swap for honey if you prefer.
- Granulated sugar – A touch of granulated sugar helps with the flavor, but you can omit it if you prefer.
- Flour- I use a mix of whole wheat and all purpose flour. The whole wheat can be swapped out for only all purpose flour just note that your animal crackers may lose some of their shape and definition.
See all the ingredients and amounts in the recipe card below.
Instructions for Sourdough Animal Crackers
Step 1 – Mix dry ingredients
In a mixing bowl, combine the flours, cinnamon, salt, and sugar.
Step 2 – Add butter
Cut cold butter and then use a pastry cutter or your fingers to incorporate it into the dry ingredients, creating a sandy consistency.
Step 3 – Add wet ingredients
In a separate bowl, combine the maple syrup, sourdough discard and vanilla. Pour into the dry and mix to combine.
Step 4 – Knead
Dump the dough onto the counter and knead together by hand for a couple of minutes until incorporated and a ball forms.
Note: This will seem dry at first but it will come together.
Step 5 – Chill
Divide the dough into 2 and wrap both in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Step 6 – Roll
Pull out one section of the dough and roll it thin, to 1/16”. For a slightly thicker and softer cookie, roll it out to ⅛”.
Step 7 – Cut
Use mini cookie cutters to cut into animal shapes. Take the scraps and re-roll to get more animal crackers. In total, this recipe makes about 115, 2″ crackers.
Step 8- Bake
Place on a lined baking sheet and bake in a 400°F oven for 8-10 minutes. If your animal crackers are thicker, they could take closer to 12 minutes. They should be lightly browning along the edges.
Step 9 – Cool
Let the Animal Crackers cool. They will continue to crisp up as they cool.
Recipe Tips
- Don’t skip refrigerating the dough to ensure the dough holds its shape and design when baked.
- If you find your crackers won’t hold their shape after cutting them out, put them in the refrigerator again for 20-30 minutes before baking.
- Use cold butter from the fridge, it does not need to be frozen.
- If the crackers aren’t crisping up after cooling, bake the next batch longer. Likely, your crackers are thicker, so they are taking longer to dry out.
- You can take out the granulated sugar, but it really helps with flavor to add just a little bit of sweetness.
- After cutting out, I re-roll the remaining dough 2-3 more times to get the maximum number of crackers. If the dough is getting too warm, put it back in the fridge before rolling it out again. This recipe will make about 115 2″ crackers.
Storing Sourdough Animal Crackers
Some or all of the animal cracker dough can be stored in the fridge for up to 5 days. Simply wrap the dough in cling wrap, and when you are ready to use it just roll it out.
Once the crackers are cooked and cooled, they can be stored in an airtight container on the counter. They will stay good for 1-2 weeks.
Recipe FAQ
There are two main types of mini cookie cutters on Amazon. Ones with an attached plunger, like these, and ones that come in 2 pieces, the cutout and plunger. I use both depending on which shape I want; however, there are some pros and cons to each.
The one with the plunger attached is easier to indent the dough with and apply even pressure. However the variety of shapes are more limited, at least on Amazon, and the quality is not great. They are not made super well and seem like they could easily break but they do get the job done.
The cutters with two separate pieces have a much larger selection on Amazon and they seem to be better quality. However since the pieces are not attached I constantly have to match up which cutter goes with which inner piece. It is harder to apply even pressure with this one and you have to press down hard to get the imprint to show up well.
Yes, although I find the crackers with whole wheat flour hold their shape and definition just a little bit better.
More sourdough snacks
Soft Sourdough Bread Recipes
Sourdough Ham and Cheese Rolls (soft & fluffy!)
Sourdough Snack Recipes
Baked Sourdough Mini Corn Dog Muffins (Just 20 Mins!)
Sourdough Discard Recipes
40+ No Wait Sourdough Recipes (Quick & Easy)
Easter Sourdough Recipes
Sourdough Carrot Cake Scones
Tried this Sourdough Animal Crackers or another recipe from the site? I’d love to hear about it! Drop a star rating and share your thoughts in the comments—can’t wait to see what you’re baking!
Sourdough Animal Crackers
Ingredients
- 210 grams all-purpose flour, 1½ cups
- 70 grams whole wheat flour, ½ cup
- 6 grams cinnamon, 2 teaspoons
- 5 grams salt, 1 teaspoon
- 30 grams granulated sugar, 2 Tablespoons
- 113 grams butter, ½ cup
- 75 grams maple syrup, ⅓ cup
- 10 grams vanilla extract, 2 teaspoons
- 80 grams sourdough discard, ⅓ cup
Instructions
- Mix dry ingredients – In a mixing bowl, combine the flours, cinnamon, salt, and sugar.210 grams all-purpose flour, 70 grams whole wheat flour, 6 grams cinnamon, 5 grams salt, 30 grams granulated sugar
- Add butter – Cut cold butter and then use a pastry cutter or your fingers to incorporate it into the dry ingredients, creating a sandy consistency.113 grams butter
- Add wet ingredients – In a separate bowl, combine the maple syrup, sourdough discard and vanilla. Pour into the dry and mix to combine.75 grams maple syrup, 10 grams vanilla extract, 80 grams sourdough discard
- Knead – Dump the dough onto the counter and knead together by hand for a couple of minutes until incorporated and a ball forms.
- Chill – Divide the dough into 2 and wrap both in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Roll – Pull out one section of the dough and roll it thin, to 1/16”. For a slightly thicker and softer cookie, roll it out to ⅛”. Use mini cookie cutters to cut into animal shapes. Take the scraps and re-roll to get more animal crackers. In total, this recipe makes about 115 2" crackers.
- Bake – Place on a lined baking sheet and bake in a preheated 400°F oven for 8-10 minutes. If your animal crackers are thicker, they could take closer to 12 minutes. They should be lightly browning along the edges.
- Cool – Let the animal crackers cool. They will continue to crisp up as they cool.
- Repeat – Pull the remainder of the dough out of the fridge and repeat the process. You can repeat this as many times as you would like to with the scraps. If the dough starts to get too warm simply place it in the fridge for 10-15 minutes before proceeding.
Notes
- This recipe will yield about 115, 2″ crackers.
- Don’t skip refrigerating the dough to ensure the dough holds its shape and design when baked.
- If you find your crackers won’t hold their shape after cutting them out, put them in the refrigerator again for 20-30 minutes before baking.
- Use cold butter from the fridge, it does not need to be frozen.
- If the crackers aren’t crisping up after cooling, bake the next batch longer. Likely, your crackers are thicker, so they are taking longer to dry out.
- You can take out the granulated sugar, but it really helps with flavor to add just a little bit of sweetness.
- After cutting out, I re-roll the remaining dough 2-3 more times to get the maximum number of crackers. If the dough is getting too warm, put it back in the fridge before rolling it out again.
- Store in an airtight container on the counter.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
So yummy!!
Any thoughts on freezing the dough?
Hi Rachel, I haven’t tried it but I think for this recipe, you shouldn’t have any issues if you freeze the dough. Thanks!
Does it matter if the butter is salted or unsalted?
No either will work.
These look great and I can’t wait to try them! If I don’t have animal cracker cutouts, could I simply slice them into squares to just make simple crackers? What would you suggest?
Thanks!
Yes that will work!
Hi, I made these and they are really good. I have a question about the serving size. Says 1 gram, but 1 cookie weighs more than a gram on my scale…is that right? Thanks
No sorry that was a typo. It has been updated.
Can you sub different flour to make them GF?
I haven’t tried it to know for sure but I would think it would be ok
These are great and so easy to make!! Thank you so much for sharing, my son is obsessed 🙂
How long can you keep the dough in the fridge?
What is the best way to save these? How many days will they keep?
I just put them in an airtight container and they last at least a week. Mine have even gone past that and been fine.
Hi! Have you tried these with only AP flour and no whole wheat?
Okay these are AMAZING. My house is cold so the butter didn’t fully cream and I was worried. Our household approves!
This recipe is so easy. The cutters recommended are so cute – bought the unicorn ones as well. The flavor is good, next time need to roll thinner for a crunch!