Homemade Mini Animal Cookies Recipe with Naturally Pink Strawberry Icing

Homemade Mini Animal Cookies

There is something about a tiny animal shaped cookie that takes me right back to childhood, sitting on the kitchen floor with a little bag of pink and white cookies, sorting the elephants from the zebras before my brother could reach them.

These homemade mini animal cookies bring that memory straight back into my own kitchen, and honestly, they taste even better than the ones from the store.

The cookie base is very close to a classic sugar cookie, but it leans on maple syrup or honey for half of the added sugar. That small change keeps the cookies crisp and not overly sweet, which matters once you dip them in icing.

The icing is where the real magic happens. Instead of a bottle of red dye, the pink comes from finely ground freeze dried strawberries, so the color and the strawberry flavor arrive together.

This recipe is part of a Better Than Store Bought series, and it earns the name. You get 80 to 100 little cookies from one batch, which is plenty for a cookie swap, a classroom treat, or an afternoon when the kids need something to do with their hands.

A serving is 5 cookies, so there is room to share without anyone feeling shortchanged.

Here is what makes these little cookies worth the effort:

• Eleven ingredients, most of which are already in your pantry.
• A soft dough that comes together in one bowl for the dry mix and one for the wet mix.
• Naturally pink icing made from real freeze dried strawberries.
• A crisp, lightly sweet cookie that holds up under icing and sprinkles.
• Endless shape possibilities, from elephants and giraffes to whatever cutters you have on hand.

If you have ever looked at those nostalgic pink and white animal cookies in the grocery aisle and wondered how they are made, this is your answer. The dough is simple, the chilling time is hands off, and the dipping step is the kind of messy, sprinkle covered fun that makes a kitchen feel like home.

One small tip before you start: these cookies are at their best when they are baked until crisp. Soft cookies feel lovely on their own, but icing softens them further, so a little extra color on the edges is a good thing.

What You’ll Need to Make This Recipe

Before you start, pull out your smallest animal cookie cutters. The set I reach for most often includes an elephant, a giraffe, a camel, a zebra, and a hippo, and those five shapes alone can keep a group of kids busy for a whole afternoon. If your cutter collection looks different, that is completely fine. Any small shape will work.

Here is the full ingredient list for the cookies:

• All purpose flour: 1¾ cups. White whole wheat flour works well here too. I have not tested this recipe with gluten free flour, but a good one to one blend should work.
• Baking powder: ½ teaspoon.
• Kosher salt: ¼ teaspoon.
• Unsalted butter: ¼ cup, softened to room temperature.
• Light brown sugar or coconut sugar: ¼ cup.
• Maple syrup or honey: ¼ cup.
• Large egg: 1.
• Vanilla extract: 1 teaspoon.

For the icing, you will need:

• Powdered sugar: 1 cup.
• Milk: 3 to 4 tablespoons, regular or nondairy.
• Finely ground and sifted freeze dried strawberries: 1 to 2 tablespoons.
• Rainbow nonpareil sprinkles: optional, or use any sprinkles you love.

A few notes on swaps. If you want to replace the butter, room temperature solid coconut oil is a possibility, though I have not tested that version myself. Coconut sugar and honey can stand in for the brown sugar and maple syrup.

If you do not want to grind freeze dried strawberries, a few drops of food coloring will give you pink icing instead, though you will lose that gentle strawberry flavor.

How to Make This Recipe

This dough comes together quickly, and most of the time involved is hands off. Prep takes about 30 minutes, the dough rests in the refrigerator for another 30 minutes, and the cookies bake in 6 to 8 minutes. From start to finish you are looking at roughly 1 hour and 8 minutes.

1. Mix the dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
2. Cream the butter and sugar. In a separate bowl, cream the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the maple syrup, egg, and vanilla until smooth.
3. Bring the dough together. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix just until a soft dough forms. Try not to overmix once the flour disappears.
4. Chill the dough. Flatten the dough into a disk, wrap it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes. This makes the dough easier to roll and helps the cookies hold their shape.
5. Preheat and prepare. Preheat the oven to 350°F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
6. Roll and cut. Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface to about ¼ inch thick. Use small animal cookie cutters to cut out shapes and transfer them to the prepared baking sheets. Re roll the leftover dough and keep cutting shapes until you are out of dough.
7. Bake. Bake for 6 to 8 minutes, until the cookies are just set and slightly golden on the edges. The bottoms should be golden brown. If they are underbaked, they will be too soft once you coat them in icing. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
8. Make the icing. Whisk together the powdered sugar and milk. Divide the icing between two bowls. Add the finely ground freeze dried strawberries to one of the bowls and whisk until smooth, adding more milk as needed for consistency.
9. Dip and decorate. Using a fork, dip each cookie in the icing and let the excess drip off before placing it on parchment paper. Top with a few sprinkles, then let the cookies set until the icing is solid.

One detail that makes a real difference: grind the freeze dried strawberries to a fine dust in a small food processor, then sift the powder through a fine mesh sieve. About 1 ounce of strawberries is enough. The sieve catches the seeds and any larger pieces, so your icing stays silky and smooth.

The dipping step is the part my kids always want to help with, and it is very forgiving. A fork makes it easy to lift each cookie, let the extra icing fall back into the bowl, and slide it onto the parchment.

If you want both colors on one cookie, dip half in the pink and half in the white, or alternate cookies as you go.

Storage

Once the icing is fully set, store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 4 to 6 days.

For longer storage, freeze them for up to 6 months. I like to layer them between sheets of parchment paper so the icing and sprinkles stay put.

Lexi and Beth’s Best Recipe Tips

These tips come from the original recipe authors, Lexi and Beth, and they have saved me more than once.

Do not underbake the cookies if you plan to ice them. Icing softens cookies, so the base needs to be crisp and light golden brown. A slightly underbaked cookie is fine if you are skipping the icing entirely, but once that glossy layer goes on, a soft cookie turns fragile fast.

Give the icing time to set. The top of the icing sets within about an hour, but the bottom side can take up to 8 hours to fully firm up.

The cookies are still perfectly edible while they are setting, just a little messier to handle. If you are packing them for a gathering, plan ahead so they have time to dry.

Work with your kitchen, not against it. In a hot or humid kitchen, icing can stay tacky for a long time. Place a fan near the cookies while they set, or once the tops are firm, flip the cookies over so the bottoms can dry too.

Play with other freeze dried fruits. Raspberries give a more vibrant pink, blueberries turn the icing a blueish purple, and mango or pineapple create a soft yellow. Each one brings its own flavor along with the color, which is a fun way to make a batch feel brand new.

My own addition is simple: set up your dipping station before you start. Parchment on the counter, sprinkles in a shallow dish, and a fork for each color. Once the first cookie is dipped, you will want a rhythm, and a little setup makes the whole process feel calm instead of chaotic.

More Better Than Store Bought

If you enjoyed making these homemade mini animal cookies, this Better Than Store Bought series has plenty more from scratch favorites to explore.

The idea is always the same: take a nostalgic grocery store treat and make it at home, where you can control the ingredients and share the results with the people you love.

Keep an eye out for the next one, and in the meantime, a double batch of these little animals is never a bad idea.

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Homemade Mini Animal Cookies There is something about a tiny animal shaped cookie that takes me right back to childhood, sitting on the kitchen floor with a little bag of pink and white cookies, sorting the elephants from the zebras before my brother could reach them. These homemade mini animal cookies bring that memory straight back into my own kitchen, and honestly, they taste even better than the ones from the store.

• Total Time: 68 min
• Yield: 80–100 cookies 1x

Ingredients

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For the cookies
1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
¼ cup light brown sugar or coconut sugar
¼ cup maple syrup or honey
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Mini animal cookie cutters

For the icing
1 cup powdered sugar
3–4 tablespoons milk (regular or nondairy)
1–2 tablespoons finely ground & sifted freeze-dried strawberries
Rainbow nonpareil sprinkles

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Instructions

1-In a medium bowl, whisk together the: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
2-In a separate bowl, cream the butter: In a separate bowl, cream the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the maple syrup, egg, and vanilla until smooth.
3-Add the dry ingredients to the wet: Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix just until a soft dough forms.
4-Flatten the dough into a disk, wrap: Flatten the dough into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
5-Preheat the oven to 350°F: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
6-Roll the dough out on a lightly: Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface to about ¼ inch thick. Use small animal cookie cutters to cut out shapes and transfer to prepared baking sheets. Re-roll the leftover dough and continue cutting shapes until you’re out of dough.
7-Bake for 6-8 minutes, until the cookies: Bake for 6-8 minutes, until the cookies are just set and slightly golden on the edges. The bottoms should be golden brown. If they are underbaked, they will be too soft once you coat them in icing. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
8-Whisk together the powdered sugar and milk: Whisk together the powdered sugar and milk. Divide between two bowls. Add the finely ground freeze-dried strawberries to one of the bowls and whisk until smooth. Add more milk as needed for consistency.
9-Using a fork, dip each cookie in: Using a fork, dip each cookie in the icing and let excess icing drip off before placing on parchment paper. Top with a few sprinkles, then let the cookies set until the icing is solid.

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• Prep Time: 30 min
• Cook Time: 8 min
• Method: bake

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 5 cookies
• Calories: 108
• Sugar: 10.9 g
• Sodium: 22.1 mg
• Fat: 2.7 g
• Carbohydrates: 19.7 g
• Fiber: 0.3 g
• Protein: 1.6 g