Make your own circus animal cookies with this recipe! Buttery shortbread cookies dipped in melting chocolate and decorated with sprinkles.
You might also like our homemade Hostess Cupcakes, copycat Chick-fil-A Chocolate Chunk Cookies, or Cosmic Brownie Cookies.
Watch our step by step video!
Circus animal cookies have been a classic storebought treat for decades. I loved them as a child and still buy them as an adult! The description of the iconic cookies states that the cookies are shortbread. When I examined the ingredient list I found that they are not true shortbread cookies. Shortbread cookies are typically made from butter, sugar, and flour.
The store-bought version of circus animal cookies are made from items that I've never baked with before like palm kernel oil and invert sugar. They also contain ingredients like baking soda, cornstarch, and milk that aren't typically found in shortbread cookies.
All that to say, my version is a true shortbread cookie. They look JUST like the originals but have a buttery flavor like classic shortbread.
Homemade Circus Animal Cookies
I love how simple shortbread cookies are. 3 ingredients: butter, powdered sugar, and flour. No eggs, leavening, or flavor add-ins, although you can add a splash of vanilla if you’d like. They are so fun to customize!
This recipe makes over 100 tiny cookies. You can, of course, make a half batch if you'd like. Because they are coated in a melted candy coating they'll stay fresh for up to a week.
I rolled my dough out nice and thin and baked the cookies a bit longer than I typically do for the same classic crispy cookie texture that we all know and love. Just look at those crispy layers!
Circus Animal Cookie Cutters
You can use any small animal cookie cutter that you'd like, but if you're looking for the perfect cookie cutters, I found these Noah's Ark mini cutters on Amazon. They are just the right size and I especially think the giraffe and elephant shapes are cute.
3 More Cute Treats You Might Like
- Brownie "Cake" Pops (no frosting or cream cheese required)
- Frozen Bananas
- 3-Ingredient Twix Candy Bars
Candy melt brands vary and everyone has one that they prefer. Ghirardelli white melting wafers are my favorite for flavor. White almond bark is easy to work with too. I do not recommend ChocoMaker colored candy melts because I think they have a very strange aftertaste, but others might not find that to be the case. Sweet Tooth Fairy and Wilton's candy melts have a more mild flavor. If you find them to be too thick you can add a small amount (teaspoon) of coconut oil and stir it into the melted candy.
Circus Animal Cookie Ingredients
- 1 cup butter (salted or unsalted)
- ¾ cup powdered sugar (confectioners’ sugar)
- 2 cups flour
- 12 oz. white chocolate candy melts or white almond bark.
- 12 oz. pink candy melts
- nonpareils sprinkles
How To Make Circus Animal Cookies
Combine butter, powdered sugar, and flour in a large bowl using an electric mixer (I use my stand mixer with a paddle attachment). The dough will appear crumbly, but keep mixing and it will turn into a soft dough. Trust me! You can also press the crumbly mixture with your hands into a ball of dough (watch my video to see how I do this).
Roll dough out on a lightly floured surface using a rolling pin. The dough should be no thicker than ¼″.
Cut out using a small star cookie cutter and place on an ungreased cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
Bake at 325 degrees for 13-14 minutes. Let the cookies cool on a baking sheet. Cool completely.
Note: The edges and bottoms of the cookies should be a light golden brown. I cook these cookies a little longer than normal so they are nice and crisp. Perfect for dipping and has the same texture as circus animal cookies.
Note: I only bake on light-colored baking sheets. If you are using dark-colored sheets you'll need to watch the cookies starting around 10 minutes.
While cookies cool melt the colored melting chocolate according to the package instructions. I like using almond bark for the white chocolate coating.
Note: I find that it’s easiest to dip one color at a time. This way you don’t have to worry about the other colors cooling and hardening while you are dipping the other cookies.
Dip cookies into the melted chocolate. Flip over with a fork and cover the cookie completely. Lift the cookie out of the melted chocolate with a fork, tapping the fork against the side of the bowl to allow excess chocolate to drip off.
Place dipped cookies back on a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Sprinkle with sprinkles.
Repeat until all cookies have been covered.
Once hardened, store cookies in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Homemade Circus Animal Cookies Recipe
Homemade Circus Animal Cookies
Equipment
- electric hand mixer or stand mixer
Ingredients
- 1 cup room temperature butter salted or unsalted
- ¾ cup powdered sugar confectioners’ sugar
- 2 cups flour
- 12 oz. white chocolate candy melts or almond bark
- 12 oz. pink candy melts
- nonpareils sprinkles
Instructions
- Combine butter, powdered sugar, and flour in a large bowl using an electric mixer (I use my stand mixer with a paddle attachment). Note: The dough may appear crumbly, but keep mixing and it will turn into a soft dough. Trust me! You can also form the dough with your hands.
- Roll dough out on a lightly floured surface using a rolling pin until it's ¼" thick.
- Cut out shapes using small animal cookie cutters and place them on an ungreased cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Bake at 325 degrees for 13-14 minutes*. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet. Cool completely.*The edges and bottoms of the cookies should be a light golden brown. I cook these cookies a little longer than normal so that they are crisp once cooled. Perfect for dipping and has the same texture as circus animal cookies.
- While the cookies cool, melt one color of melting chocolate according to the package instructions. I find that it's easiest to dip one color at a time. This way you don't have to worry about the other color cooling and hardening while you are dipping the other cookies.
- Dip cookies into the melted chocolate. Flip over with a fork and cover the cookie completely. Lift the cookie out of the melted chocolate with a fork, tapping the fork against the side of the bowl to allow excess chocolate to drip off.
- Sprinkle with nonpareil sprinkles before the chocolate hardens.
- Repeat with the other color until all cookies have been dipped and covered.
- Allow cookies to set up.
Brandy says
Hi everyone! Brandy here, I still can't believe how spot on these circus cookies turned out and they stay fresh for days! Just make sure to use a good-flavored candy melt on the outside!