Make the whole room light up with smiles when you serve a batch of homemade Circus Animal Sugar Cookies! Loaded with fun colors and simple ingredients, you’re going to love these easy to make cookies.
Circus Animal Sugar Cookie Recipe
I struggle to think of a recipe more fun than these colorful circus animal sugar cookies! Ingredients like rainbow sprinkles and circus animal cookies create both vibrant colors and sugary flavors in this simple recipe.
Your kids are going to obsess over these homemade cookies, and honestly, so are you! Let your inner child indulge and smile when you enjoy one of these unique sugar cookies. They’re truly fun for the whole family!
The best part is, other than how fun and picturesque these cookies are, is just how easy they are to make. Skip that store-bought cookie dough and instead, make these super simple homemade treats. Trust me, your kids (and grown-up friends) will thank you!
Note: This recipe is one of those few exceptions on our site that has more than 10 ingredients. We try to keep things VERY easy around here, and limiting ingredients and time spent is one of our favorite ways. That being said, this recipe is too delicious to leave out of our recipe box! It’s an exception that is so flavorful and worth the extra ingredients if you have the time and resources to make it.
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How to Make Circus Animal Sugar Cookies
Be sure to see the recipe card below for full ingredients & instructions!
- Line a baking sheet and preheat the oven.
- Whisk together flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt.
- Cream together the shortening, butter, sugar, and brown sugar. Mix in the egg and vanilla extract.
- Combine the wet and dry mixtures.
- Scoop the cookie dough onto the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake.
- Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet before moving to a wire rack.
- Enjoy your circus-themed delights!
The store-bought circus animal cookies that you’ll be using for this recipe are very much vanilla! They’re sweet and perfect for this sugar cookie recipe.
They’re similar, but not the same. Animal crackers are more of a snack and less of a dessert, while iced circus animal cookies are much sweeter and coated with icing and sprinkles.
You can, but be careful with this recipe! It already calls for rainbow sprinkles, so the addition of food coloring might make the color of the sprinkles bleed into the dough and ruin the rainbow quality of the cookies.
These cookies are what every sugar cookie should be – deliciously soft and chewy. If yours turn out crunchy, they likely spent too much time in the oven. You also might have added too much flour.
Circus animal sugar cookies are soft, chewy, colorful, and fun as can be!
Make a batch of these vibrant cookies for any occasion to start the party, or just for a fun Tuesday night.
Recipe Tips and Notes
- Careful not to bake the cookies for too long! Once the edges are golden brown, they’re fully baked.
- Remember to let the cookies cool for a bit on the baking sheet before transferring them to a wire rack so they don’t break apart.
- Use a cookie scoop to ensure every cookie is the same exact size. This will help them bake evenly and look perfect.
If you love fun colors, circus animal cookies and lighting up a room, then you really need to make a batch of these rainbow sugar cookies. They’re a perfect treat for fun-lovers of all ages!
If you make this recipe be sure to leave us a comment or rating. Enjoy!
Circus Animal Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour 280 grams
- ¾ teaspoon cream of tartar
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ⅓ cup vegetable shortening 60 grams
- ½ cup unsalted butter 113 grams, room temperature
- ¾ cup granulated sugar 167 grams
- ½ cup brown sugar 120 grams
- 1 large egg 50 grams, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 4 grams
- 1½ cups crushed frosted circus animal cookies 175 grams
- ⅓ cup rainbow sprinkles 62 grams
Equipment
- Kitchen Scale (optional)
- Baking Sheet
- Hand Mixer (optional)
- Stand Mixer (optional)
- Cookie Portion Scoop
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Line a baking sheet or 2 with parchment paper and set aside.
- Whisk together the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and sea salt in a large bowl. Set aside.2 cups all-purpose flour, ¾ teaspoon cream of tartar, ½ teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- In a separate bowl, using a hand or stand mixer, cream together the shortening, softened butter, granulated sugar, and light brown sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Mix in the egg and vanilla extract.⅓ cup vegetable shortening, ½ cup unsalted butter, ¾ cup granulated sugar, ½ cup brown sugar, 1 large egg, 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Add the flour mixture to the sugar mixture and mix until combined. Fold in the crushed animal cookies and sprinkles.1½ cups crushed frosted circus animal cookies, ⅓ cup rainbow sprinkles
- Use a cookie scoop to place scoops of dough onto the prepared baking sheets making sure to leave about 1 inch between each cookie. Use the palm of your hand or the bottom of a glass to flatten each cookie slightly.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes or until beginning to brown on the edges.
- Remove the cookies from the oven and allow them to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before removing to cool completely.
Notes
- I prefer to bake my cookies one batch at a time so each cookie is baked evenly. You can either bake the cookies one batch at a time or use multiple cookie sheets to bake all at once and save yourself some time. You may want to rotate your pans halfway through baking to help the cookies bake more evenly.
- For a more animal cookie-focused presentation, feel free to save some whole animal cookies and place one on top of each cookie immediately upon removing from the oven.
- Careful not to bake the cookies for too long! Once the edges are golden brown, they’re fully baked.
- Remember to let the cookies cool for a bit on the baking sheet before transferring them to a wire rack so they don’t break apart.
- Use a cookie scoop to ensure every cookie is the same exact size. This will help them bake evenly and look perfect.
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