There are some things in life that will always make you happy. Some things just have that affect. A certain song. A certain lipgloss. A certain glass of wine.

For me, animal crackers are one of those things.

They just make me smile. Maybe it is because they are cute, and little, and have just the right amount of sweetness. Or maybe, it is because it is food that you are supposed to play with. But really I think it is because you get to bite their heads off first, smile and then devour the rest of their bodies.

But animal crackers that come pre-packaged have a ton of ingredients that I don’t recognize and can’t pronounce. Something that doesn’t make me smile.

So, I found a recipe for healthy animal crackers that only has seven ingredients [not including my fun additions] made up of whole wheat, a little butter and a small dose of raw sugar. But sometimes healthy doesn’t translate into making a toddler happy.

I made my first batch, which was good, but they needed something. A fist pump in the air, a rainbow of happiness or a dish dash surprise. Rosemary for a savory animal cracker, cinnamon sugar for a sweeter animal cracker and dark chocolate for a mommy animal cracker.

Bullseye.

The tots and parents both devoured them. Heads first of course.

rosemary [yum], cinnamon and sugar [yum], dark chocolate [yum]

of course I had to do all 3 flavors
but play around and find the flavor that makes you the happiest

party animals

Animal Crackers – 3 Ways

inspired by a recipe from Parents Magazine

1/3 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/3 cup raw sugar
1 large egg
3 tbsp honey
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

You can add the following ingredients:

Quantities are based on entire recipe. If you want to make more then one flavor, adjust according

3 tbsp dark chocolate chunks
2 tsp rosemary
3 tbsp raw sugar mixed with 1 tbsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 and line baking sheet with parchment paper.

Blend butter and sugar in large bowl until light and fluffy. Add egg and honey and mix well.

In another bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add flour mixture to butter mixture a little at a time. If the dough is too soft, add a little more flour.

If you have time, let dough chill out in fridge for 1 hour. If not, go ahead with next step.

Roll dough out on counter or parchment paper until 1/8″-1/4″  thick. Using cookie cutters (can get animal shapes here) or round shot glass, cut out shapes from dough. Keep rolling and cutting until you use all of your dough. Place shapes on baking sheet and bake for 7-10 minutes or until the bottoms are golden brown. Let cool on baking sheet for 10 minutes and then transfer them to wire rack to cool completely.

They are more like cookies when first baked and become crispier and more cracker like after a few days.

Will last a week on counter in an air-tight container or 1 month in freezer.