These Frosted Circus Animal Cookies are thick, soft-baked sugar cookies loaded with colorful sprinkles and topped with a nostalgic swirl of pink and white almond buttercream. If you’re looking for a Crumbl copycat recipe that actually tastes better than the original, this is it! The secret is the hint of almond extract in the frosting—it perfectly mimics the flavor of those classic iced animal crackers we all loved as kids.
Ingredients
Ingredients
The Sprinkle Sugar Cookies
- 1 cup (227g) Unsalted Butter, softened
- 1/2 cup (109g) Vegetable Oil
- 1 cup (200g) Granulated Sugar
- 1/2 cup (60g) Powdered Sugar
- 2 Large Eggs, room temperature
- 1/2 tbsp Pure Vanilla Extract
- 4 1/2 cups (563g) All-Purpose Flour
- 3/4 tsp (4.5g) Salt
- 2 tsp (10g) Baking Powder
- 1 tsp (5g) Baking Soda
- 1/3 cup (60g) Rainbow Nonpareil Sprinkles
Almond Buttercream Frosting
- 1 cup (227g) Unsalted Butter, softened
- 3 1/2 cups (420g) Powdered Sugar
- 3 tbsp (45g) Heavy Cream
- 1/2 tsp Almond Extract
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- Pink Gel Food Coloring
- Topping: Extra sprinkles and Frosted Animal Cookies
Instructions
1. Make the Cookie Dough
Preheat your oven to 350°F. In a large bowl or stand mixer, cream together the softened butter, vegetable oil, granulated sugar, and powdered sugar until smooth. Add the eggs and vanilla, mixing until fully combined.
2. Mix Dry Ingredients
Slowly add the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Mix until just combined (don’t overmix, or the cookies will be tough!). Gently fold in the rainbow sprinkles by hand.
3. Scoop and Bake
Scoop dough into balls (approx. 3 tbsp for standard size, or larger for “jumbo” bakery-style). Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet and press down slightly. Bake for 10–12 minutes until the edges are just set but the centers are still pale. Let them cool completely before frosting.
4. Whip the Buttercream
Beat the softened butter for 2 minutes until pale and fluffy. Gradually add powdered sugar, heavy cream, almond extract, and vanilla. Whip on high for another 3 minutes.
5. The Signature Swirl
Divide the frosting into two bowls. Leave one white and tint the other with pink gel food coloring. To get the swirl shown in the photo, fit a piping bag with a large round tip. Lay a large rectangular piece of plastic wrap on your counter. Line your white frosting in a straight line down the center of the plastic wrap and the pink parallel to the white. Leave 2 inches on the top and bottom, rolling the colors together like a burrito and pinching the ends of plastic together. Snip off one end of the icing “burrito” and place the snipped end down into the tip of the piping bag. Pipe a circular swirl starting from the center of the cooled cookie.
6. The Final Touch
Immediately top with rainbow sprinkles and one frosted animal cracker while the frosting is still fresh.
Pro-Tips for Success
• Don’t Overbake: These cookies should stay soft! Take them out as soon as they no longer look “wet” on top.
• Gel vs. Liquid Color: Always use gel food coloring. Liquid coloring can thin out your buttercream and make it “weep.”
• Room Temp Eggs: Using room temperature eggs ensures the vegetable oil and butter emulsify perfectly, giving you that iconic soft texture
• Freeze Your Sprinkles: I always freeze my sprinkles 30 minutes prior to folding them into my cookie doughs to prevent bleeding of colors into your dough.
Items used for this recipe and all others on my website is linked for you in my Amazon Storefront!
Frosted Animal Cookies
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat and Cream: Preheat your oven to 350°F. Cream butter, oil, and sugars until light and fluffy.
- Mix: Incorporate the vanilla and eggs.
- Combine: Fold in dry ingredients until just combined, followed by your sprinkles. Pro Tip: Freeze sprinkles for 30 minutes before using to ensure they won't bleed into your dough!
- Shape: Scoop out 3.75 ounce dough balls and flatten them into discs.
- Bake: Bake cookies for approximately 9 minutes and 30 seconds.
- For the Frosting:
- Cream: Cream the butter until smooth.
- Sweeten and Flavor: Incorporate extracts and 1 cup of powdered sugar.
- Consistency: Continue adding 1 cup of sugar and 1 tbsp of heavy cream, mixing in between until the buttercream reaches your desired consistency.
- Color: Separate buttercream equally into 2 bowls. Add 3 drops of pink gel food coloring into one bowl and mix until the color is distributed evenly.
- Prep Frosting: Lay out a large piece of plastic wrap on your counter. Line your icings in 2 straight lines in the middle of the plastic, leaving 2 inches on each end of the plastic so you can pinch the ends together. Pinch ends of plastic and roll into a "buttercream burrito." Add a piping tip into a piping bag. Snip one end of the pinched plastic wrap off and place that side down into the piping bag.
- Pipe and Decorate: Pipe round swirls of buttercream onto cooled cookies. Finish with more sprinkles and a whole frosted animal cookie.
- Note: The piping bags, flavor extracts, food coloring, and sprinkles I use for these cookies are linked in my Amazon Storefront!