Circus Animal Cookies
Circus Animal Cookies are a nostalgic treat with a cake-batter cookie base, cream cheese frosting, sprinkles, and a store-bought animal cracker on top.
Servings: 17 cookies
Cost: $5.17
Equipment
- Sheet pan (15" x 10") with liner
Ingredients
Cookies
- 12 tablespoons unsalted butter room temperature
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar lightly packed
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup instant vanilla pudding mix dry, not prepared, not sugar or fat-free
- 1 cup Funfetti cake mix or yellow
- 1-1/4 cups flour
- 1/4 cup nonpareil sprinkles
Frosting
- 4 ounces cream cheese room temperature
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter room temperature
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- Frosted animal crackers optional
Instructions
- In a large bowl, use a hand mixer to beat together the butter and both sugars. The butter should not be melted at all. Beat until ingredients are completely smooth and combined, with a light and creamy texture.
- Add in the egg and vanilla and beat until combined.
- Stir together the baking soda, salt, unprepared pudding mix, unprepared cake mix, flour, and nonpareil sprinkles in a separate bowl (see note 1). Stir until combined.
- Add dry ingredients to wet. Mix gently until just combined; do not overmix or sprinkles will bleed colors. Heads-up—this cookie dough gets thick!
- Form cookie dough balls that are each 2 tablespoons in size. Roll balls that are taller rather than wider. Place cookie dough balls on a plate and cover. Refrigerate for 1–2 hours.
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a baking liner. Place no more than 6 dough balls on a cookie sheet to give ample room for spreading.
- Bake for 9–13 minutes or until lightly browned at the edges and still soft (slightly under-baked in the center—I bake for about 11 minutes). Remove from oven and, working quickly, immediately press the edges of each cookie slightly inward with the back of a spoon.
- Allow cookies to stand on the cookie sheet for another 3–4 minutes. Remove with a metal spatula to a cooling rack until fully cooled.
- In a large bowl, beat the room-temperature butter and cream cheese until completely smooth; mix in the vanilla and salt. Add in the powdered sugar and beat until the frosting is smooth. It may seem like you need more liquid, but just keep beating; it will come together! If it does happen to be too wet, add a bit more powdered sugar, and if it is too dry, add a touch of milk or cream.
- Transfer the frosting to a plastic bag and cut off the tip. You can also use a piping bag with a small tip. Frost each cooled cookie by piping the frosting in a swirl on top. Sprinkle tops of the cookies with extra sprinkles and press a frosted animal cracker into the center of each cookie.
Video
Notes
Note 1: If you press a measuring cup into a bag of flour, you will pack in way too much flour; use a spoon to scoop it into a measuring cup, then level the top with the back of a table knife.
Nutrition Note: The nutrition information does not include the store-bought frosted animal crackers used for garnish.
Storage: Store any leftover (completely cooled) cookies in an airtight container at room temperature. Frosted cookies are best enjoyed the same day they’re made.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 386kcal | Carbohydrates: 63g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Cholesterol: 48mg | Sodium: 144mg | Potassium: 48mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 48g | Vitamin A: 453IU | Calcium: 23mg | Iron: 1mg