In our Homeschool Cooking Class we will be celebrating April 18 National Animal Crackers Day #NationalAnimalCrackersDay. If Charlie wasn’t having to help his dad mow several yards tomorrow we would make Animal Crackers in our Cooking Class. Instead I plan on going to @Walmart and surprising Charlie and David with Barnum’s Original Animal Crackers, 2.13 oz Box and Mother’s Circus Frosted Animal Cookies 9 Ounce Bag. I love both of these Cookies and can’t wait to have each for a snack tomorrow. Would you like to join me for a Cookie or two?
I have a question for you. Who can resist the iconic treats of our childhood as we celebrate National Animal Cracker Day on April 18? Animal Crackers are one of the best-recognized food products on the planet today. Who knew that the little Zoo and Circus animals that delighted us as children would later become one of our fondest childhood memories and a simple guilty pleasure for adults?
Animal Crackers have been part of American childhood memories since the late 1800s when they were first imported from England where Animal Crackers were invented. When recipes for the popular animal-shaped Biscuits ie Cookies made their way to America, independent bakers began baking up herds of the animals to meet growing demand.
The stampede of Animal Crackers found inside grocery cracker barrels jumped into American shopping baskets was well underway when Stauffer’s Biscuit Company began commercially producing their original recipe Circus Crackers in 1871. Stauffer’s unique baking process created a slightly sweet, crispy, Cracker-like Biscuit that dominated the growing Animal Cracker category for years. Then, in 1902, the big competition arrived that transformed the Animal Cracker industry forever.
Although not first to market with Animal Crackers in America, when the National Biscuit Company, Nabisco, introduced their brand of Animal Crackers packaged in small boxes that looked like P.T. Barnum Circus Train Cars, which quickly became the most popular brand of Animal Crackers in America. Their Circus-train-themed packages were initially sold as Christmas tree ornaments. The colorful boxes sporting exotic Animals in circus train cars with a string for hanging on the tree were an immediate hit with children who begged for boxes of Animals to carry around by a string. When all the Animals in a box had been devoured, children filled the circus car boxes with childhood treasures, creating an unexpected shelf life extension and bonus marketing for the Barnum’s Animals brand.
Not all Animal Crackers were created equal, and despite the popularity and fast ascension of Nabisco’s Barnum’s Animals to the iconic childhood Cookie, many people still preferred the original Stauffer’s Animal Crackers recipe. The difference in texture and flavor between the two brands is distinctive, and there remains a continued strong market for both brands of Animal Crackers.
Stauffer’s Biscuit Company still produces Original Animal Crackers using the original 1871 recipe. Stauffer’s Biscuit Company strategy has been to produce a consistently crisp, layered Dough Cracker that is more like a traditional English Biscuit, and less sweet than a Cookie.
Nabisco still produces its colorful, wild Animal-themed, small-carton packaging that appeals to young children. Nabisco’s Animal Crackers are a little sweeter and softer in texture than a Cracker or Biscuit. Animal Cracker aficionados would argue that Nabisco’s Barnum’s Animal Crackers are actually Animal Cookies, not Crackers. What do you think. Cookie or Cracker?
Nabisco changed the name of their product from Barnum’s Animals to Barnum’s Animal Crackers in 1948, a move probably not necessary to remain the category leader as is evidenced by the product’s fast rise to fame and continued appeal to children. It doesn’t matter if you prefer the crispy Biscuit-like Crackers or the sweeter, softer Cookie-like variety, on National Animal Crackers Day, we’re of the notion that the more Animals in the parade, the merrier. We’re not sure exactly when Animal Crackers were first commemorated with their own special holiday on the calendar, but on National Animal Crackers Day we are all about Animal Crackers.
NATIONAL ANIMAL CRACKER DAY ACTIVITIES
- Instead of playing penny-ante poker, today why not raise the stakes in today’s game and play for Animal Crackers?
- If you want to spread some love and see smiles purchase Animal Crackers and greet everyone you meet today with a box of Animal Crackers.
FACTS ABOUT ANIMAL CRACKERS
- In the 1935 movie “Curly Top,” adorable round-faced child movie star Shirley Temple sang about Animal Crackers in her soup, including “Monkeys and Rabbits but did you know Rabbits have never been featured in Animal Crackers.
- Boxes of Nabisco Barnum’s Animal Crackers have featured 37 different animals over the years and they currently include 19 different Animals, with the last addition being the Koala.
- Did you know Stauffer’s has an ‘Animal Identifier’ for those of us who have trouble deciding Animal by cracker shape just visit their website with photos of the different Animals they currently produce.
- According to Stauffer’s Biscuit Company, the tiny holes in their Animal Crackers are called ‘dockers,’ which allow air to escape the Crackers during the rising process, helping the Crackers to retain the Animal shape.
- Under pressure from animal activist group PETA, Nabisco retired its nostalgic Circus-Train-themed box in 2016 and replaced it with a new theme that debuted in 2018. Now I have a question for you. Which box do you like better? For me I prefer the original box and so does David because its the one we grew up with and so does Charlie because he said it keeps the Animals safer. What do you think?
WHY PEOPLE LOVE NATIONAL ANIMAL CRACKER DAY
- Animal Crackers are the perfect snack and they have a crunch we can count on and they are not too sweet but just sweet enough to satisfy our sweet tooth.
- Most of us have a parade of Animal Crackers on a plate or in the iconic circus-themed box floating among our sweetest childhood memories. .
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
