Today is National Animal Crackers Day so I’m sharing eight wonderful gluten-free animal cracker recipes with you. Do you call them animal crackers or animal cookies? Or perhaps circus animal cookies? And do you like your cookies plain or frosted?
No matter on either answer. I think this is one food holiday we can all embrace even if we have different preferences!
What a great excuse to eat that beloved cookie from childhood, right? Animal crackers always bring me joy. Well, gluten-free animal crackers that we can actually eat safely, that is.
I will confess that one of my favorite memories with Son when he was a little guy was sharing a box of animal crackers while we did our grocery shopping. The cashier never acted like she found it unusual that she was ringing up an empty box of animal crackers, so I suspect we weren’t the only ones who emptied the box before leaving the store!
Of course, those were gluten-full cookies but ready-made gluten-free animal crackers do exist now. My local grocery store carries them. Two kinds in fact. (This brand and this brand. I’ve also seen this brand elsewhere.)
But today we’ll focus on making some gluten-free animal crackers at home. Here are eight recipes from some of your favorite gluten-free bloggers including a cheater “recipe.” I do like cheater recipes because I like easy!
As noted below, some of these recipes are free of other ingredients as well. That means there are some good options for you if you have additional food restrictions or if you have limited ingredients at the moment—the latter is often true for many of us.
Grab some animal cookie cutters (here, here, here, or here) for the future if you don’t have any cookie cutters on hand that will work. Any animal cookie cutters will do though.
Chances are you have some animal holiday cookie cutters (think bunnies, bats and cats, penguins and reindeer for Easter, Halloween, and Christmas respectively) or members of your family have favorite animals and you most likely have cookie cutters for those. Honestly, I love the idea of being able to bake animal cookies that you can’t find in any of the ready-made boxes of cookies. Squirrel cookies, panda cookies, moose cookies … they’ll all be great as animal crackers/cookies!
Gluten-Free Animal Cracker Recipes
~ Animal Crackers from Jeanne of Art of Gluten-Free Baking ~ gluten free, egg free, vegetarian
(See more of Jeanne’s recipes in her acclaimed cookbooks Gluten-Free Baking for the Holidays and Gluten-Free Wish List.)
Animal Crackers from Art of Gluten-Free Baking
~ Animal Crackers from Sandi of Fearless Dining ~ gluten free, vegetarian, with dairy-free options
Gluten-Free Animal Crackers from Fearless Dining
~ Gluten-Free Vegan Animal Graham Crackers from Laura of Petite Allergy Treats ~ gluten free, dairy free, egg free, vegan
Gluten-Free and Vegan Animal Graham Crackers from Petite Allergy Treats
~ Homemade Animal Crackers from Cara of Fork and Beans ~ gluten free, dairy free, egg free, vegan
(See more of Cara’s recipes in Decadent Gluten-Free Vegan Baking.)
Gluten-Free and Vegan Animal Crackers from Fork and Beans
~ Homemade “Mother’s” Circus Animal Cookies from Fork and Beans ~ gluten free, corn free, dairy free, egg free, vegetarian, vegan
Homemade “Mother’s” Circus Animal Cookies (Gluten Free and Vegan) from Fork and Beans
~ Paleo Animal Crackers from Danielle of Against All Grain ~ gluten free, grain free, dairy free, refined sugar free, vegetarian, paleo, primal
(See more of Danielle’s recipes in one of her many great cookbooks. Her latest is Food Saved Me, which has truly moved so many, and her upcoming book is Healthy in a Hurry.)
Gluten-Free and Paleo Animal Crackers from Against All Grain
~ Paleo Animal Crackers from Megan of Allergy-Free Alaska ~ gluten free, grain free, dairy free, refined sugar free, vegetarian, paleo, primal
Gluten-Free and Paleo Animal Crackers from Allergy Free Alaska
~ Vegan Banana Bread Animal Crackers from Leanne of Healthful Pursuit ~ gluten free, dairy free, egg free, vegan
(See more of Leanne’s recipes in The Keto Diet Book and The Keto Diet Cookbook.)
Gluten-Free and Vegan Banana Bread Animal Crackers from Healthful Pursuit
Happy Animal Crackers Day! Please report back and tell me which gluten-free animal cracker recipes you try.
Originally published December 6, 2015; updated April 17, 2024.
jules shepard says
Thanks for sharing, Shirley! Such a fun day to celebrate!
~jules
judee@ Gluten Free A-Z Blog says
Shirley ,
Who doesn’t love animal crackers. Thanks for bringing us so many wonderful ways to enjoy gluten free !I’ll be trying some of these for the grand kids
Shirley Braden says
Just looking at these cookies makes me happy, Judee! I’m sure your grandkids will feel the same way, but will like getting to eat them even more. 😉
Shirley
Sarah || Celiac in the City says
These are all adorable!
Shirley Braden says
I think so, too, Sarah! And we all need some more “adorable” in our lives. 😉
Shirley
GiGi Eats says
OMG! I totally wanna try making these. I will epically fail but I will still try!
Shirley Braden says
Aren’t they fun, GiGi? Some of these are super easy. You’re bound to succeed. 😉
Shirley
April J Harris says
I have such happy memories of animal crackers when I was growing up, Shirley. Honestly, this post just makes me want to make some and eat them with a glass of milk! It’s lovely to have such great choice of recipes. I’m particularly keen on the Animal Graham Crackers as we can’t get graham crackers very easily here in the UK. Pinned. Thank you for sharing with us at the Hearth and Soul Hop.
Shirley Braden says
Hi April–I totally get that! My animal cracker memories include my own memories as a child and memories made with Son. Very special indeed. 🙂
Wow, I had no idea that you graham crackers would be hard to find in the UK. I would have expected that ready-made gluten-free graham crackers would be hard to find, but not the gluten-full ones. 😉 This is an example of why it’s really enlightening to have blogger friends all over the world!!
Thanks so much for always taking the time to leave such in-depth, lovely comments here on gfe and, of course, for being the ideal Hearth and Soul Hop hostess! I appreciate all that you and Swathi do in your H&S roles. 🙂
Shirley
Megan Ancheta | Allergy Free Alaska says
Who in their right mind can resist animal crackers?! 😉 I love them, even as an adult! There are some great recipes here… thank you so much for including one of mine, Shirley!
xoxo,
Megan
Shirley Braden says
I don’t know, Megan. The people who can resist animal crackers could not be my friends for sure. 😉 Love your recipe and all the rest. No two animals alike, no two recipes alike. Hehe! 🙂
xoxo,
Shirley
Raia says
I LOVE animal crackers. I practically lived off them before going gf. No joke. :p I’m definitely going to be giving a few of these a try.
Thank you so much for sharing them with us at Savoring Saturdays, Shirley! 🙂
Shirley Braden says
Hehe! Now that’s something that I would never have guessed, Raia! 😉 Hear, hear for gluten-free animal cracker recipes and Savoring Saturdays. 🙂 I’d love to try all of these myself. Enjoy!
Shirley
Bethany says
These are so cute!
Shirley Braden says
Hi Bethany–The cute factor so often makes treats taste even better! 😉
Shirley
judee says
Thanks Shirley,
What a great idea to make with the grand kids!! Thanks for sharing the recipes! Happy Easter
Shirley Braden says
A very belated response but you’re welcome, Judee. I hope these recipes do get made with the grandkids. That would make for a very special baking event.
Happy Spring, Judee,
Shirley
Judee says
Shirley,
Those iced animal crackers look so good and bring back memories of my childhood eating them together with a glass of milk. So glad to have a gluten free version.. thanks Shirley
Shirley Braden says
Such sweet memories of childhood, right, Judee? I love that there are options that will work for everyone here. 🙂
Shirley
April Harris says
I love animal crackers, Shirley, and these all look so good! Believe it or not, I have never seen animal crackers in the UK (!) so I’m very glad you shared these delicious recipes with the Hearth and Soul Link Party! Hope your week is going well.
Shirley Braden says
I found your comment interesting, April, so I had to consult Google. LOL It seems animal crackers originated in the UK and Cadburys makes a version, some with chocolate coating. They look delicious!
It’s always fun to partake in Hearth and Soul!
Shirley
Nancy says
Shirley, I did love animal crackers as a kid! And National Animal Cracker Day–hadn’t heard of that before– I never cease to be amazed at all the quirky food holidays there are! I need to remember this posting next time the granddaughters come to Florida for a visit. They love cooking with me and this is something we have never made together. Thanks as always.
Shirley Braden says
Hi Nancy–I just love the idea of you making one of these recipes with your granddaughters!! And yes, many of the food holidays are quirky and often surprising but I honestly love them. They remind me to share gfe recipes that might not otherwise come to mind (as well as inspire me to do new recipe roundups) and they occasionally even inspire my meals. 🙂
Hope you’re having a good week! Btw, I’m still thinking about your Spinach Mushroom Lasagna! 😉
Shirley