Healthy Animal Crackers (2024)

Tasty healthy frosted 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 homemade animal crackers are sure to be a crowd hit!

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

Want to know why I'm obsessed with these healthy frosted animal crackers? Here's my running list:

• 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

If that's not reason enough to make these cuties then I don't know what is! They're fun and delicious and quite easy to whip up.

For more sprinkle fun, check out my funfetti vegan rice krispie treats and cake batter white chocolate cups.

Ingredients and Substitutes

• Egg - This is what helps the dough stick together so you can easily roll it out. If needed, substitute a flax egg to make this recipe vegan.
• Maple syrup - Used to add a touch of sweetness to the crackers.
• Molasses - Also known as the "secret" ingredient used to give these frosted animal crackers the classic graham cracker taste. Omit this ingredient if needed.
• Almond flour + Tapioca flour - The best combination of gluten-free flours for these crackers. If desired, you can substitute the arrowroot starch for the tapioca flour.

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!

Directions

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!

Storing

Be sure to wait until the icing is set to store these frosted animal crackers. Then place them in an airtight container. They will keep for up to a week in the fridge and 4 days out on the counter.

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

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