April 18 is National Animal Cracker Day. In honor of the day, I thought it would be fun to celebrate this national day with some great tasting Animal Cracker Recipes.
Remember those little red boxes, shaped like circus train cars full of tiny animals? This childhood treat has it’s own special day!
Many national days are associated with food. Find out all about these special days in my national days guide.
Whipping up some of your favorite recipes for this food themed national day and sharing them with friends makes any celebration a cherished one.
Animal crackers are one of life’s ways to let us be a kid again.
Remember when April the Giraffe was all over social media a few years ago? With everyone waiting for her calf to be born, so I bet many people chose giraffes as a favorite!
Animal crackers recipes can be made in all sorts of ways. Crush the crackers to use as a crust for bars, use them as toppings for cupcakes and other sweets, or even make your own home made animal crackers.
There are so many special days in the month of April to celebrate. Check out my list of April national days here.
Fun facts about animal crackers
- Animal shaped cookies have been enjoyed as a treat from the early 1800s in England.
- Nabisco started selling Barnum’s animal crackers in 1902. They were named after one of the country’s greatest showmen, P.T. Barnum.
- Believe it or not, the original carton was intended to be a Christmas ornament!
- 37 different animals have been featured in Barnum’s Animals crackers since they were introduced.
- Surprisingly, Nabisco does not pay any licensing fee to the Barnum and Bailey Circus.
- The koala is the latest addition to the menagerie. It was added in 2002 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the crackers. Nabisco sponsored a “name our next animal contest” and the overwhelming winner was Mr. Koala.
How to celebrate National Animal Cracker Day
There are lots of fun ways to celebrate National Animal Cracker Day. Here are a few creative ideas.
- Have an animal cracker costume party with your friends, where everyone dresses up like their favorite animal. Give out boxes of animal crackers as party favors.
- Have a family night and snack on animal crackers while you play the animal cracker game.
- Use animal crackers in one of the recipes below.
- Treat your little one to the child’s book – Animal Crackers.
- Spread the word on social media using the hashtag #nationalanimalcrackerday or #animalcrackerday Here is a tweet to get you started:
Animal cracker recipes
These animal cracker recipes are fun, tasty and will delight both young, and young at heart.
Lemon Cheesecake Bars with an Animal Cracker Crust. – This is a light, fluffy and tart dessert.
Animal Cookie Ice Cream – How about using your favorite cracker in some ice cream?
Frosted Animal Cracker Bark – Bark makes a great home made gift idea.
Animal Crackers Snack Mix – Turn your favorite cracker into a party mix.
Frosted Animal Cracker Cheesecake Bars – These cheesecake bars are an elevated spin on this favorite childhood snack.
Shortbread Animal Cracker Cookies – Delightfully light shortbread gets formed into animal shapes.
Homemade Animal Crackers – No need to buy them. Make your own!
Cinnamon Animal Crackers – These animal crackers have a cinnamon finish to them.
Paleo Animal Crackers – A few easy substitutes and your animal crackers fit in the Paleo diet!
Have you used animal crackers in cooking? What did you do with your tiny animals? Let us know in the comments below, and don’t forget to tell us which is your favorite!
Pin these animal crackers recipes for later
Would you like a reminder of these recipes using animal crackers? Just pin this image to one of your cooking boards on Pinterest so that you can easily find it later.
Watch our YouTube video to learn about more national food days in April.
Admin note: This post first appeared on the blog in March of 2017. I have updated the post to add new photos and recipes plus suggestions for extra ways to celebrate.