Fun and Creative Zoo Animal Cookie Cutters for Kids

Introduction to Zoo Animal Cookie Cutters

Zoo animal cookie cutters are a fun and creative way to make shaped sugar cookies or fondant cake toppers. They come in a variety of designs like elephants, giraffes, lions, zebras, monkeys, and more. Using cookie cutters shaped like zoo animals brings your baked goods to life and makes them more fun for kids and adults alike.

Types of Zoo Animal Cookie Cutters

There are many types of zoo animal cookie cutters available from various brands. Here are some of the most popular designs:

• Elephants - Often available in both standing and sitting positions
• Giraffes - Shown standing with their long necks and spots
• Lions - Roaring designs are common for these king of the jungle cutters
• Zebras - Striped zebra designs are available in side and front facing styles
• Monkeys - Seen hanging, sitting, or with arms overhead
• Bears - Standing or sitting panda and grizzly bear designs
• Gorillas - Sitting and beating their chests in dominance
• Tigers - Jumping through hoops or prowling designs
• Flamingos - Elegant standing or laying down flamingo cutters
• Penguins - Show penguins standing, belly sliding, ornestling an egg

In addition to these zoo animal designs, some brands offer cutters in the shapes of reptiles like alligators, snakes, and lizards. There are also domestic animal cookie cutters like dogs, cats, bunnies, pigs, and farm animals that complement a zoo animal theme.

Benefits of Zoo Animal Cookie Cutters

There are many benefits to using zoo animal cookie cutters:

• Education - They can spark interesting conversations about animals
• Creativity - Decorating zoo animal cookies encourages imagination
• Variety - The menagerie of designs provides lots of options
• Theme Potential - They work for zoo themed parties or class lessons
• Fun - Kids love making and eating the zoo animal cookies
• Detail - The designs capture the details of each unique animal
• Unique Gift - They make novel gifts for animal lovers and children

Young children especially get excited about making and decorating cookies that look like the animals they see at the zoo. The zoo animal shapes spark their creativity, and they love pointing out the details like the elephant's trunk or lion's mane. Cookie cuttersshaped like their favorite animals provide entertainment and education.

Tips for Using Zoo Animal Cookie Cutters

Here are some helpful tips for getting the best results when using zoo animal cookie cutters:

• Use a sugar cookie or gingerbread dough that holds its shape well after cutting and baking.
• Chill the dough thoroughly before rolling it out to prevent spreading.
• Lightly dust the work surface and rolling pin with flour if the dough is sticky.
• Roll out the dough to approximately 1⁄4 inch thickness before cutting shapes.
• Dip the cookie cutter in flour between each cut to prevent sticking.
• Push the cutter straight down and lift straight up for clean edges.
• Transfer shapes carefully to the baking sheet using a thin spatula.
• Space zoo animal cookies at least 1 inch apart so they don't meld together.
• Refrigerate cut shapes 10-20 minutes before baking to firm up the dough.
• Bake at temperatures and times recommended in the recipe.

Take extra care when moving delicate extremities like trunks and tails from the work surface to the baking sheet. Let cookies cool completely before decorating with icing, sprinkles, edible eyes, sugars, candies, and other fun embellishments. Get creative decorating your zoo animal cookies to match the designs!

Popular Brands of Zoo Animal Cookie Cutters

There are many excellent brands that make creative zoo animal cookie cutters. Here are summaries of some of the most popular:

Wilton

Wilton makes one of the largest selections of animal shaped cookie cutters. Their zoo set includes an elephant, lion, zebra, monkey, and giraffe. Wilton is known for cutters that capture intricate details like fur and scales.

Cookie Cutter Shop

Cookie Cutter Shop has dozens of wild animal designs available like crocodiles, hippos, pandas, rhinos, polar bears, and more. Their sets allow you to make a whole box of assorted zoo animal cookies.

Sugarboo and Co

Sugarboo and Co focuses on whimsical and elegant designs. Their zoo animals include a walking elephant, sitting panda, monkey hangingfrom a branch, and side-facing giraffe. The thick steel cutters are durable.

Classic Collection

Classic Collection by Natalia makes zoo animal sets and individuals in clear acrylic. Options include a koala bear, rock hopper penguin, meerkat, sea otter, and leaping dolphin cookie cutter.

Ann Clark

Ann Clark's line of Gingerbread Friends has many zoo creatures to choose from. Designs include a hippo ballerina, dancing elephant, pirouetting giraffe, and bunnyacrobats circus troupe.

Whether you need one signature animal or a whole set, you can find high-quality zoo animal cookie cutters from these top brands and others. Look for creative poses, crisp details, sturdy materials, and safe construction.

Fun Cookie Designs Using Zoo Animal Cutters

Let your imagination run wild when planning cookie designs with your zoo animal cookie cutters. Here are somefun ideas to try:

Animal Prints

Make print cookies featuring your favorite zoo creatures. Cut giraffe print shapes from tan dough with chocolate dough circles for spots. Do black and white zebra stripes or work in an elephant's blueish gray skin and pink inner ears.

Silly Animal Stacking

Stack animals on top of or next to each other for funny animal towers. Balance a monkey on a giraffe's neck. Have a lion ride an elephant's back. Create silly animal cookie sculptures the kids will love.

Zoo Dioramas

Make a cookie tray zoo diorama with each cookie representing an exhibit. Shape the dough around thecutters to make landscape features like trees, rocks, icebergs, and flowers. Use icing to add fences, water,and other habitat details.

Zookeeper and Visitor Cookies

Don't forget to represent the people at the zoo! Add zookeeper, tourist, and baby stroller shaped cookies watching your animal cookies. Dress them up with shirts, hats, cameras, and toys.

Animal Family Groupings

Show zoo animals in family groupings to teach animal social structures. Make a big elephant with littlecalves or a lioness with cubs. Penguins pairs sitting on nests and gorilla troops also make endearing animal families.

The possibilities are endless when making animal kingdom themed baked goods. Zoo animal cookiecutters inspire kids of all ages to learn while having sweet creative fun!

Tips for Decorating Zoo Animal Cookies

Decorating your zoo animal cookies brings them to life! Here are some decorating ideas and helpful tips:

• Use colored icing to pipe on details like eyes, noses, mouths, stripes, spots, and textures.
• Edible candy eyes in various sizes add personality when applied to the animal faces.
• Coconut flakes make great fur for monkeys and lions when sprinkled on the iced cookies.
• Chocolate sprinkles, sugars, and candies represent dirt, mud, food bits, and other natural elements.
• Luster dust mixed with extract or vodka adds metallic sheens to represent scales and feathers.
• Let icing colors and textures guide your choices. Make flamingos pink, zebrasstripey, and giraffes spotty.
• Food coloring pens allow you to hand draw finer details like penguin feathers or tiger whiskers.
• Refrigerate iced cookies 20-30 minutes to allow icing and decorations to set before packaging.

Roll up your sleeves and let your inner zookeeper out when decorating your zoo animal cookies. Thefinishing touches really bring them to life! Shortbread, sugar cookies, gingerbread, and other doughs all work well for these projects.

With the right zoo animal cookie cutters, decorating supplies, and a bit of creativity, you can have a roaring good time making these wild treats. The whole family will have fun designing cookies for your own homemade cookie zoo!

FAQs

What are the most popular zoo animal cookie cutter designs?

The most common zoo animal cookie cutters are elephants, giraffes, lions, zebras, monkeys, bears, tigers, flamingos, and penguins. Brands also offer more unique designs like rhinos, hippos, crocodiles, and pandas.

What types of dough work well with zoo animal cookie cutters?

Sugar cookie, gingerbread, shortbread, and other sturdy doughs that hold their shape during cutting and baking are best. Avoid very soft doughs that could lose details.

What are some decorating ideas for zoo animal cookies?

Use colored icing to add details, faces, and textures. Apply edible candy eyes, candies, sprinkles, and coconut for fur. Food coloring pens add finer details like stripes. Luster dust creates metallic looking scales or feathers.

Can you make 3D zoo animal cookies?

Yes, shape some of the dough around the cutter to create 3D details like ears, limbs, tails, rocks, trees, and other habitat features. Stack or group cookies together to form 3D animal scenes.

Are zoo animal cookie cutters only for kids?

Not at all! While kids love decorating fun animal cookies, many adults enjoy baking and decorating with zoo animal cutters for parties, gifts, and their own snacktime enjoyment.