Who’s in the mood for cupcakes? I thought you might be, too, so today I’m sharing a tasty recipe for Circus Animal Cracker Cupcakes. The taste of animal crackers takes me right back to childhood, so I love the nostalgia this recipe creates for me. A reminder of younger days when life was so much easier and all I had to worry about was who was sitting next to me in the cafeteria. Oh, how quickly those childhood days floated by!

Now we can relive those childhood days with one quick bite of these cupcakes. Vanilla, sugar, animal crackers, what’s not to like? Give this recipe a go and I bet you’ll love it as much as I do, too! Get the ingredients and recipe below.

ANIMAL CRACKER CUPCAKE RECIPE

Ingredients for the cupcakes:

1/2 cup unsalted sweet cream butter softened
2 eggs
2 1/2 cups flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup milk
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup of crumbled Animal crackers

Directions to make the cupcakes:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Set up your cupcake pan with liners.
Fill a ziplock bag with Animal Crackers and and crumble them.
Fill the bottom of the liners with crumbled Animal Cracker cookie.
Using a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, and salt.
In a separate large mixing bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high for 30 seconds.
Now add sugar, and vanilla to the butter and beat until combined.
Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Alternate, the flour mixture and milk to butter mixture, beating on low speed until everything is well mixed together.
Fill the cupcake pan liners 2/3 with cake batter
Bake for 18-20 minutes.
Remove cupcakes from pan and allow to cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes before frosting.

Ingredients for the Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting:

1 c unsalted sweet cream butter
3 c powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
3 tbsp heavy whipping cream
12-18 Animal Crackers for garnish

Directions to make the frosting:

In large mixing bowl, beat butter, vanilla and cream cheese on high speed until fluffy.
Add 3 cups of sugar, one at a time while beating.
Add in heavy cream if frosting is looking like sugar pebbles.
Scrape the sides to get all of the sugar.
Mix until your frosting is stiff and doesn’t fall off the whisk.
Using a star tip, pipe on the frosting onto the top of the cupcake and place a Animal Cracker Cookie on top.
Enjoy!

Print Recipe

Circus Animal Cracker Cupcakes

Ingredients

"!For the cupcakes:"
1/2 cup unsalted sweet cream butter softened
2 eggs
2 1/2 cups flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup milk
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup of crumbled Animal crackers
"For the Frosting:"
1 c unsalted sweet cream butter
3 c powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
3 tbsp heavy whipping cream
12-18 Animal Crackers for garnish

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and set up your cupcake pan with liners.
Fill a ziplock bag with Animal Crackers and and crush them to make crumbles.
Fill the bottom of the liners with crumbled Animal Cracker cookie.
Using a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, and salt.
In a separate large mixing bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high for 30 seconds.
Add sugar, and vanilla to the butter to the mixture and beat until combined.
Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Alternate the flour mixture and milk to the butter mixture, beating on low speed until everything is well mixed together.
Fill the cupcake pan liners 2/3 with cake batter.
Bake for 18-20 minutes.
Remove cupcakes from pan and allow to cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes before frosting.
In large mixing bowl, beat butter, vanilla and cream cheese on high speed until fluffy.
Add 3 cups of sugar, one at a time while beating.
Add in heavy cream if frosting is looking like sugar pebbles.
Be sure to scrape the sides to get all of the sugar incorporated.
Mix until your frosting is stiff and doesn't fall off the whisk.
Using a star tip, pipe on the frosting onto the top of the cooled cupcake and place a Animal Cracker Cookie on top.