Sourdough Animal Crackers Recipe (a homemade snack)

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A homemade snack that has no “extra” ingredients or artificial flavors, and the kids love to help make these!

sourdough animal crackers on towel

This is such a fun sourdough discard recipe! It really is a win, win. A homemade snack that has no “extra” ingredients or artificial flavors, the kids love helping cut them out, and they are a great way to use sourdough discard! So that makes them a win, win…win. Ha! I hope you enjoy making these Sourdough Animal Crackers Recipe (a homemade snack), for the little ones in your life…and really, I think my husband and I enjoy them just as much as the kids.

Almost like a shortbread cookie, but crackers, these little snacks have a touch of sweetness and are filled with whole grain goodness! Where does that whole grain come from? This recipe for homemade animal crackers has ground oats in it. I love the flavor of these and the slight sweetness making them a great recipe for your little ones. Our kids love them! Let’s look at how to make these Sourdough Animal Crackers.

They would be great addition to a Snackle box, as a tractor snack or an anytime snack. These homemade crackers, with simple ingredients, are a huge hit and a great baking activity to do with your littles.

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The Sourdough Animal Cracker Recipe Ingredients:

  • Butter: This recipe simply takes 1 stick of butter (8 T). You want your butter to be very soft and this is very important. You want it soft enough that it will mix in very easily, so a little warmer than room temperature. I use my microwave and just defrost the butter for a few seconds at a time until I reach the desired consistency.
  • Ground Oats: This ingredient brings a whole grain element and also a flavor element that is so good. I just take oats and use the blender to grind them up, but you could also use a food processor, or oat flour should work, if you don’t want to go through the extra step of grinding your own oats.
  • Brown Sugar: Brown sugar is where part of the element of sweetness comes from. This recipe just has a ¼ cup of brown sugar in it and that is just right!
  • Molasses: The other part of the sweetness to this recipe and an added flavor element comes from the molasses. Just a tablespoon but it is a great addition to this recipe.
  • Sourdough Starter Discard: Most recipes that use sourdough discard it doesn’t matter too much if it is active or discard starter. This recipe however, you want to be sure to use discard because you don’t want them to rise very much, or they won’t be crispy like a cracker. If you don’t care about that then it would be just fine to use an active starter.
  • Sea Salt: Just a little bit of salt. Kosher salt would work as well.
  • Pure Vanilla Extract: I like to use Pure Vanilla Extract when I can but if you don’t have that imitation works too!
  • All-Purpose Flour: My favorite brand of flour to use is Dakota Maid. If you don’t have that in your area any quality all-purpose flour should work well!

A Look at the Process from Start to Finish:

  • soft butter in bowl
  • adding sourdough discard
  • wet ingredients combined
  • flour and oats in bowl
  • dough combined
  • Dough divided and wrapped
    Dough Divided in two and wrapped in plastic wrap.
  • rolling out dough
  • using the cracker cutters
  • cut out elephant on dough
  • cut out shapes
  • cut out dough on baking sheet
  • close up of animal crackers
  • baked animal crackers

Overnight Ferment:

Another reason to love this easy recipe: you can do an overnight ferment. If you would rather not do this, you can just roll them out same day as well.

The animal cookie cutters:

I have linked the animal cracker cutters I used to get these cute shapes. I also wanted to note that if you don’t want to buy them you can use small cookie cutters. If you want the small size, like a cracker, you will want to use the ones I linked.

Another option would be to cut them into squares, and a pizza cutter would make this a fast process.

Tips for cutting them out:

  •           Press firmly first on the shape and then press down on the imprint handle.
  •           You won’t regret having a lot of room to roll these out. Pick a large work surface if possible.
cut out elephant on dough

Ways to enjoy these sourdough animal crackers:

  1. An everyday snack-a replacement for a storebought less healthy option.
  2. As a tractor snack.
  3. In a little’s lunch box
  4. A Snackle Box
  5. A cute option to decorate at baby showers
  6. Your little one’s birthday party.
animal crackers with a glass of milk

Pin this for Later:

pin image with sourdough animal crackers

Sourdough Animal Crackers: A Recipe from the Farm

  • 8 T butter, softened
  • ¼ cup brown sugar
  • 1 T molasses
  • ½ tsp sea salt
  • 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 ½ cups ground oats
  • ¾ cup sourdough discard, room temperature
  • In a large bowl, start by adding the softened butter (make sure it is good and soft, so it incorporates well) and the brown sugar. Beat well for 1-2 minutes until fluffy.
  • Then add the molasses, sea salt and vanilla and mix until just combined. Stir in the sourdough discard then add the flour and ground oats, knead this in by hand or stand mixer, until no dry bits are left in the bowl. You will work it until a slightly stiff but soft dough forms.
  • Once it has been well combined take and divide the dough into 2 pieces. Then wrap each piece with plastic wrap and place in fridge. Place in the fridge for at least 1 hour or overnight.

The Next Day:

  • Take your cracker dough out of the fridge and let it sit at room temperature (15-30 minutes) to warm up some. This just helps it to be easier to roll out. Then on a lightly floured surface (A little flour is all you need.), starting with one of the pieces of cracker dough, use your rolling pin to roll out the dough about an 1/8” thick. You want it thin.
  • Next take your cracker or cookie cutters and cut out the shapes from the rolled-out dough. Place on a large baking sheet that is lined with parchment paper. The crackers lift out pretty easy but you will want to be gentle, so you don’t rip off a leg or nose. 🙂
  • Once you have cut out as many as you can, take and reroll the remaining dough to cut out more. Continue this until all the extra dough has been used.
  • Bake in a preheated 400-degree oven for 8-10 minutes or until nice and golden brown. Bake time will differ depending on how thin you were able to roll them.
  • Remove from the oven and remove from the baking sheet and onto a cooling rack immediately to cool. Once completely cool, store in an airtight container for 7-10 days.
pile of sourdough animal crackers

Sourdough Animal Crackers: A Recipe from the Farm

5 from 1 vote
These animal crackers are fun to make and taste so good! The kids will love helping roll and stamp them out too!
By: Mariah Nienhuis
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Ingredients
  

  • 8 T butter softened
  • ¼ cup brown sugar
  • 1 T molasses
  • ½ tsp sea salt
  • 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 ½ cups ground oats
  • ¾ cup sourdough discard room temperature

Instructions
 

  • In a large bowl, start by adding the softened butter (make sure it is good and soft so it incorporates well) and the brown sugar. Beat well for 1-2 minutes until fluffy.
    soft butter in bowl
  • Then add the molasses, sea salt and vanilla and mix until just combined. Stir in the sourdough discard.
    adding sourdough discard
  • Then add the flour and ground oats, knead this in by hand or stand mixer, until no dry bits are left in the bowl. You will work it until a slightly stiff but soft dough forms.
    kneading the dry ingredients into the dough
  • Once it has been well combined take and divide the dough into 2 pieces.
    dough combined
  • Then wrap each piece with plastic wrap and place in fridge. Place in the fridge for at least 1 hour or overnight.
    Dough divided and wrapped

The Next Day:

  • Take your cracker dough out of the fridge and let it sit at room temperature (15-30 minutes) to warm up some. This just helps it to be easier to roll out.
  • Then on a lightly floured surface (A little flour is all you need.), starting with one of the pieces of cracker dough, use your rolling pin to roll out the dough about an 1/8” thick. You want it thin.
    cut out elephant on dough
  • Next take your cracker or cookie cutters and cut out the shapes from the rolled-out dough. Place on a large baking sheet that is lined with parchment paper. The crackers lift out pretty easy but you will want to be gentle so you don’t rip off a leg or nose. 🙂
    cut out shapes
  • Once you have cut out as many as you can, take and reroll the remaining dough to cut out more. Continue this until all the extra dough has been used.
  • Bake in a preheated 400-degree oven for 8-10 minutes or until nice and golden brown. Bake time will differ depending on how thin you were able to roll them.
    cut out dough on baking sheet
  • Remove from the oven and remove from the baking sheet and onto a cooling rack immediately to cool. Once completely cool, store in an airtight container for 7-10 days.
    close up of animal crackers

Making your own animal crackers is so much fun! I hope you enjoy making them and eating these sourdough animal crackers with your littles. Let me know what you think or if you have any questions by dropping a comment below. Thanks for stopping by TheFarmChicken. Enjoy your sourdough homemade animal crackers!

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He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
Psalms 23:2

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11 Comments

        1. You can grind oats if you have some or I would maybe replace them with half whole wheat half all purpose flour. I added the oats most for a whole grain option.

          Reply

  4. Is there anything I can use instead of Molasses? Would dark brown sugar work? My local grocers don’t carry molasses 😔

    Reply

    1. Hi Jennifer! If you have maple syrup, I would think that would work. Otherwise the brown sugar would probably work. After all brown sugar has molasses in it.

      Reply