What do you get when you combine two of your favorite cookies? The BEST Circus Animal Sugar Cookies EVER! These sugar cookies are large, thick, soft, full of Circus Animal Cookies, and sprinkles. Scroll down for all my tips and tricks on how you can make your own gourmet cookies at home. No more paying high gourmet cookie prices! Instead of serving cake at your next birthday party serve these Large Gourmet Circus Animal Sugar Cookies. They scream “LET’S PARTY”! Perfect for kids and adults.

CRUMBL COPYCAT RECIPE-FROSTED CIRCUS ANIMAL COOKIES

At first glance it’s obvious that this homemade cookie recipe does not look like the ones from Crumbl. The Crumbl cookies are a sugar cookie with sprinkles, a white chocolate melted candy topping and one single pink circus animal cookie on top. So, in short they are a disappointment to the name. To recreate their cookie, add a dollop of melted candy melts or white chocolate chips to the tops of each cooled cookie (note: you’ll need to flatten them) while the candy is still wet, add a pink animal cookie and add a few more sprinkles. The end result from this delicious cookie recipe is a large thick chewy cookie.

FUN TREAT FOR A BABY SHOWER

If the baby is a girl, add a pink animal cookie to the top of each cookie. If the baby is a boy, add a white cookie to the top of each cookie. FUN REVEAL IDEA FOR A GIRLS BABY SHOWER. Only use white animal cookies for the recipe. While shaping the cookies into a ball bury a pink animal cookie in the center of the homemade circus animal cookies.

How to Make Large Gourmet Circus Animal Sugar Cookies

DELICIOUS MOTHER’S CIRCUS ANIMAL COOKIE FLAVOR IN A GIANT GOURMET COOKIE!

VEGETABLE SHORTENING: Shortening traps more air bubbles and has a higher melting point than butter, so recipes that use shortening tend to produce an end product that will rise a little higher, holds its shape during baking, and has an interior texture that is softer or lighter.

UNSALTED BUTTER: For flavor, a little fat, and a tiny bit of liquid.

CREAM CHEESE: Swapping out some of the butter for cream cheese will create a soft cloud like cookie.

HANDLING THE DOUGH: When forming the cookie ball, don’t press the dough together too much. Try to keep it airy. Only press it together enough for it to stay together.

BAKING POWDER: Baking soda can help create crisper cookies, but we want a thick soft cookie so omit the baking soda and use baking powder.

CHILL THE DOUGH BEFORE BAKING: Once the dough is formed into balls and placed on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, slide the cookie sheet into the refrigerator for 2½ hours.

GIANT CIRCUS ANIMAL COOKIE RECIPE INGREDIENT LIST-full printable recipe below in recipe card

• ½ cup vegetable shortening
• ½ cup room temperature butter
• 3 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 2 cups granulated white sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2 ( 9 ounce) bags Animal Circus Cookies, divided (look below for instructions)
• 3½ cups all-purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1½ teaspoons baking powder
• ¼ cup rainbow nonpareils

SOFT CHEWY CIRCUS ANIMAL COOKIE INSTRUCTIONS

1. Break all the cookies in one 9 ounce bag in half, set aside.
2. Crush enough cookies from the remaining bag to measure 1 cup of cookie powder or finely crushed cookies, set aside (I poured the cookies into a zip top bag and used a rolling pen to smash the cookies).
3. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.
4. In a large mixing bowl, of a stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, add the shortening, softened butter, cream cheese, sugar, eggs, and vanilla extract. Mix until light and fluffy, use a rubber spatula to scrap around the sides of the bowl.
5. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, and 1 CUP CRUSHED COOKIES (see above).
6. Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, blend only until combined.
7. Stir in the pieces of circus animal cookies (see above), and nonpareil sprinkles.
8. Divide dough into 15 large cookie dough balls (weighing 4 ounces each)
9. Place cookie dough balls spaced out on a prepared baking sheets (one sheet has 7 cookie balls and one has 8).
10. Refrigerate 2½ hours. DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP.
11. Preheat oven to 350°.
12. Bake cookies 20-22 minutes DO NOT OVER BAKE. The cookies may seem raw but they are not. The icing from the Circus Animal Cookies has melted. Once the cookies cool the cookies will come together and slightly harden.
13. Slide HOT baked cookies still on the parchment paper onto the kitchen counter or cooling rack to completely cool.
14. MAKES 15 LARGE COOKIES

BUTTER VS MARGARINE

Don’t skimp on this ingredient….YOU MUST USE REAL BUTTER. WHY? There are several reasons for choosing butter over margarine.

1. FLAVOR: Butter provides a rich flavor. BAKERS TIP: Always use unsalted butter when baking. You want to be in control of how much salt is in your recipe.
2. FAT CONTENT: Margarine contains more water and less fat, which makes for thin cookies that spread out while baking.

CAN THIS RECIPE MAKE SMALLER COOKIES?

This recipe was designed to make 15 large thick soft cookies. Like the ones you get at a bakery.

However! This same dough can be used to make smaller size cookies. They will puff up beautiful and thick. Please keep in mind to adjust baking time. The serving size will also change.

CAN CIRCUS ANIMAL SUGAR COOKIE DOUGH BE MADE IN ADVANCE?

YES! You can totally make this dough ahead of time and save in the refrigerator or freezer!

REFRIGERATOR: The cookie dough can be kept chilled in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

FREEZER (BAKED COOKIES): Place baked cookies in a freezer safe bag. The cookies will stay fresh in the freezer up to 3 months.

FREEZER (COOKIE DOUGH BALLS): Cookie dough balls will stay fresh in the freezer up to 3 months. HOW TO FREEZE: Place the balls on a cookie sheet for a few hours before placing them in a freezer bag to store. BAKE FROZEN COOKIE DOUGH FOR AN EXTRA MINUTE, no need to thaw.