If you love circus animal cookies, you’re going to love this recipe! It features a chewy sugar cookie, sweet strawberry frosting, and crumbled circus crackers on top.

For those of us who have grown up in the midwest, you might be familiar with a little brand I like to call Archway Cookies. If you watched the Bozo Show, they always gave away those dang delicious cookies as free prizes.

I always wanted to be one of the kids that got to play the Grand Prize Game, where you threw ping pong balls into buckets that were sequentially further and further away.

You could not only win cookies, but you could possibly win a bike. Do you know what that does to a child? Mind blown.

Plus I always saw the potential in everything. If they can do it – why can’t I?

All I need to do is throw balls into buckets and I can win two wheeled transportation? Sign me up. My brothers and I practiced for HOURS so that when we finally made it on the show, we’d ace the game.

Alas, as expected, we never made it to the show (filmed in Chicago) so we never got to display our ball and bucket skills for Bozo and his motley crew of clowns. We never won bikes.

But we would have.

But after ALL of that, I still remember the cookies. Besides the bike, that’s the only other prize I remember. They had a lot of types, but one of the most popular was the Mother’s frosted animal cookies.

And for a little nostalgia: today I’ve decided to share with you a unique cookie recipe brought to you by childhood memories and a former clown friend named Bozo: circus animal cookies!

These circus cookies feature a chewy, soft sugar cookie base, sweet strawberry frosting, and crunchy crumbled circus animal biscuits on top.

They’re VERY easy to make and will be gone as soon as you set them on the table. They melt in your mouth!

Here’s what you’re going to need for these circus animal cookies.

Cookies

1/2 cup salted butter
1 cup granulated white sugar
1 large egg
1/3 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 – 1 1/2 cup circus animal cookies

Frosting

1/3 cup unsalted butter, room temp
2 cups powdered sugar
2-3 Tablespoons whipping cream
1/4 teaspoon strawberry extract
2-3 drops pink or red food coloring (or desired amount)

These cookies will last on the counter in an airtight container for five days and about a week and a half in the fridge.

You can also freeze them in an airtight container for a few months. When you bring them out of the freezer, let them rise to room temperature naturally as opposed to microwaving.

This recipe is great for cookie exchanges! Get the printable baking directions below:

Circus Animal Cookies

These circus cookies feature a chewy sugar cookie base, sweet strawberry frosting, and crunchy crumbled circus animal crackers on top!

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Prep Time: 20

Cook Time: 13

Chill Time: 30

Total Time: 1 3

Servings: people

Equipment

Ingredients

Cookies

1/2 cup salted butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1 egg(s) large
1/3 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 – 1 1/2 cup circus animal cookies
1 1/2 cups strawberry frosting

Frosting

1/3 cup unsalted butter room temp
2 cups powdered sugar
2-3 Tablespoons whipping cream
1/4 teaspoon strawberry extract
2-3 drops food coloring pink or red – you can use more drops too!

Instructions

Make the Cookies

Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats.
Use an electric hand mixer or a stand mixer to cream the butter sugar together for 2-3 minutes, or until the mixture is smooth and homogenous.
Add the egg and sour cream to the bowl. Continue mixing on a medium-high speed until the egg is fully beaten.
Once the egg and sour cream are fully incorporated into the cookie creamed sugar, stir in the vanilla extract.
Reduce your mixing speed to low and add in the baking powder, baking soda, and flour. Mix the cookie dough until the dry ingredients are just combined into the wet ingredients.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow your cookie dough to chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Divide the cookie dough into 16 evenly sized balls. Place on two baking sheets.
Bake for 13 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool for five minutes. Transfer to wire racks.

Make the Frosting

In a bowl, beat your softened butter until soft and creamy.
Add in 1 cup of powdered sugar, food coloring extract, milk, and then the rest of the powdered sugar. Beat for a couple of minutes until smooth and creamy.
Spread the icing over the top of the cookies using an offset spatula.
Crumble the circus animal crackers and sprinkle them over the top of the frosting on the cookies. Let set before serving.

Notes

I like the sweetness that the strawberry frosting brings to the table; however, you can also use vanilla frosting with a drop of red coloring. You use store bought frosting to help cut down on prep time.

You can easily make these cookies gluten free by swapping out the flour for 1 3/4 cups of your favorite gluten free flour.

Nutrition

If you enjoyed this cookie recipe, let me know in the comments. I’d also love for you to check out these others cause we’ve got a lot of delicious ideas:

Air Fryer Chocolate Chip • Birthday Cake • Chocolate Chip • Chocolate Chip Brownie • Chocolate Marshmallow • Chocolate Thumbprint • Double Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookies • Funfetti • Heath Bar • Lemon with Glaze • Lemon Shortbread • Milky Way • Nutella Stuffed • Oatmeal Creme Pies • Reese’s Pieces Chocolate • Sour Cream

Bake Festive Circus Animal Cookies for Party Treats