If you are looking for a super fun snack then these sourdough discard animal crackers are it! I love making my kids homemade snacks, and who says they can’t be fun? Now while I will admit the little cookie cutters might be a bit “extra”, they add some fun to our usual snacks! In an attempt to make these as healthy as possible, I’ve used fresh milled wheat flour. You can substitute that for all-purpose, or a store bought whole wheat as well! My kids just loves these, and I bet yours will too!
Tips for making snacks at home:
Not everyone can make everything at home, all of the time. One thing I really try to steer away from in stores, is packaged snacks. Most of the time they are full of ingredients that I don’t want my family eating, and if they aren’t they are usually really expensive. Usually my snack options are pretty basic- muffins, cookies, granola bars etc. When I saw these cutters, I knew I had to get some to spice things up around here!
Tip # 1:
Make it a fun activity for your kids! These cutters are a great way to involve your kids, so it’s less of something you need to do, and more something you can all do together! Keeps them busy, and allows you to make some snacks at home.
Tip # 2:
Make big batches! I like to make these in a double or triple batch, when stored in a sealed container they really last, that way if you don’t have a lot of time for baking, you don’t have to be in the kitchen every week making things like this!
What You Need:
- Mixing Bowl
- Dough Whisk or Wooden Spoon
- Rolling Pin
- Fun Shape Cookie Cutters (Like These!)
- Baking Sheet
- Parchment Paper
Ingredients:
- Flour (Fresh Milled (Sifted!), Whole Wheat or All Purpose)
- Sugar
- Baking Powder
- Salt
- Honey
- Butter
- Egg
- Vanilla
- Sourdough Discard
- Cinnamon
How to make Sourdough Discard Animal Crackers?
We are going to start with making our dough!
Add softened butter, honey and sugar to your mixing bowl and cream together until very well mixed.
Once mixed add in egg, sourdough discard, and vanilla to your bowl, and mix again really well.
Next it’s time to mix in your dry ingredients. Add the flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon to your wet ingredients and mix.
A Note about Flour:
If you are using fresh milled flour- I sifted mine and kept the bran out. If you are switching flour types, you may need to adjust your amounts. When using all-purpose or store bought whole wheat, start with 2 cups and add more if needed. Your dough should be soft but handleable, you don’t want it to be so soft that your cookies fall apart. The Dough shouldn’t be sticky, if it is, you should add more flour.
Now it is time to chill your dough, this makes it easier to roll out and it gives the sourdough discard a bit of time to meld with the rest of the ingredients and develop texture and flavour. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 30-60 minutes. It can definitely be left longer, but when you go to take it out, you may need to let it warm up a bit to roll it out.
When you are ready to bake, pre-heat your oven to 350 F.
Bring dough out of the refrigerator and place it on a clean floured work surface. Using a floured rolling pin, gently roll dough out until it is about 1/4 inch thick. If you don’t roll them thin enough, they may puff up a bit when they bake.
Next is the fun part- Making the animal cut outs!! Grab your kids for this!
Using your cookie cutter shapes, cut out the dough, and place the cut outs evenly spread out on your baking sheet. You will likely need to work in batches, and re-roll out the dough until all the dough has been used up! The cookie cutters used here, come in two parts. The first is the outline cutter, and then the second is the animal stamp that fits inside, and leaves the imprint. I found the stamp needs a good press down, for it to stick so don’t be afraid to really stamp it in there.
Once all your cookies are cut out and ready, place them in the oven on middle set racks and bake for 13-15 minutes, until edges start to turn golden brown. Then bring them out and transfer to a cooling rack! They don’t take long to cool, which is great for little ones, impatiently waiting to reap the rewards of their work.
Storage For Sourdough Discard Animal Crackers:
Once completely cooled, store in a sealed container! I find storing them in a jar with a tight fitting lid, they will keep for up to 2 weeks! Even longer If I break them up into smaller jars, and dry vacuum seal the jars! They can last months in your pantry, when the seal is maintained and you are not opening and closing the jars. Once you open the jar you want to eat, they will last up to 2 weeks.
I love to use vacuum sealers like this for the storage of dry goods and snacks- Mason Genie! The Mason Genie is an amazing tool to extend the shelf life of your snacks, making it so you don’t have to be baking as frequently, but can always have snacks on hand!
Homemade Sourdough Animal Crackers
Ingredients
- ½ cup Softened Butter
- ¼ cup Sugar I used cane sugar
- 2 tbsp Honey
- 1 tsp Vanilla
- 1 Egg
- 2 ½ cup Fresh Milled Flour (Sifted) OR 2 cups All Purpose Flour
- 1 tsp Cinnamon
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
- ½ cup Sourdough Discard
- 1 tsp Salt
Instructions
- Add softened butter, honey, & sugar to mixing bowl, and cream until well mixed.
- Add egg, sourdough discard, & vanilla, and mix well.
- Add flour (sifted if using fresh milled), cinnamon, baking powder, & salt, and mix until dough forms.
- Once dough is formed, cover and chill dough in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. If dough is super sticky- See Notes Below.
- Preheat oven to 350 ℉
- After dough has chilled, roll dough out on a lightly floured surface, until about 1/4' thick.
- Use animal cookie cutters to cut out dough, until all dough is used.
- Place cookies on a lined baking sheet,
- Bake cookies for 13-15 minutes, until edges start to golden.
- Allow to cool on cooling rack.
Notes
- If dough is super sticky after you have mixed, add small increments of flour until dough is firmer and handleable. Sometimes depending on the state of your sourdough discard, and what flour you use sometimes they require a bit more flour.
