Chocolate and Animal Crackers: National Animal Crackers Day!

Today is National Animal Crackers Day. The original animal crackers of my childhood didn't have a lot of flavor, but even now when I think of them I remember zoo and circus visits and the unique taste. These trips were always exciting, and animal crackers were an important part of the experience, as that was the only time I ate them.  I remember the red cardboard boxes with pictures of animals in cages (sad now, but I didn't think about that then) and little flat strings to carry your box.

Today there are many different brands of animal crackers--vegan, chocolate, chocolate covered, covered with icing and sprinkles and so many more. There's the original Barnum's Animal Crackers, and I really like Barbara's (all natural) Snackimals Double Chocolate and Snackimals Chocolate Chip.

Want to dress up your store bought Animal Crackers today to celebrate National Animal Cracker Day? Dip the animal crackers in Chocolate:

Chocolate Dipped Animal Crackers/Muddy Boots

Melt a good dark chocolate in top of double boiler over simmering water or in the microwave.
Dip animals and let cool on waxed paper.
You can either dip most of the animal (and use forks or special dipping tools) or just dip the feet as I did with the Walker Scottie Dogs with Muddy Boots. I like Trader Joe's Animal Crackers for chocolate dipping.

Want to get fancier? Healthy Happy Life (Lunchboxbunch.com) has a Chocolate-Covered Vegan Animal Cookies post with great photos and recipes.

There's even a Website devoted to Animal Crackers: www.animalcrackers.net/  Here you'll find a variety of recipes for animal crackers  such as Homemade Animal Crackers, Oatmeal Animal Crackers, Classic Animal Crackers, Cheese Animal Crackers, Chocolate Animal Crackers, and many others. Animal Crackers have been a snack since the mid nineteenth century. Today they are made by numerous well known companies, such as Keebler, Nabisco, or the Stauffer Biscuit Company. Although store bought varieties can be great, you might want to try some homemade animal crackers.

COCOA ANIMAL CRACKERS: 
Recipe adapted from AnimalCrackers.net

Ingredients:
1/3 Cup of Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
1 Cup of Organic Toasted Rolled Quick Oats
1/2 Cup Softened Real Butter
1 1/2 Cups All Purpose Baking Flour
1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 Cup of Granulated Sugar
1/2 Teaspoon of Kosher Salt
3/4 Cup of Cold Whole Milk

Directions:
Preheat  oven to 350 degrees.
In Blender, mix organic toasted rolled quick oats, with flour, unsweetened cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda, and kosher salt.
Pulse until base mixture is completely ground up into delicate powder, and color and texture are even and consistent.
Pour this mixture into mixing bowl, and vigorously stir in cold whole milk and softened real butter. Stir until dough becomes stiff, adding any extra milk if you need to.
Roll animal cracker dough into ball on clean flat surface, then flatten it out into a quarter of an inch thickness.
Using animal cracker or cookie cutters, make as many shapes as you can with the dough.
Place your finished shapes on lightly greased baking sheet. Cook for ten to fifteen minutes, or until crackers are crisp.
Cool on wire wrack for half an hour.

Waiter, there's an Animal Cracker in my soup! Animal Crackers make a great starch for soups and stews.  Last year I posted a recipe for a great Chicken Mole Polano made with Animal Crackers.  Or try this recipe for White Chocolate Mole with Animal Crackers.

Want a sweet chocolate soup with Animal Crackers? O. K., this is more of a dessert. This recipe was originally found on the Hershey's Cocoa Box.

CHOCOLATE SOUP WITH ANIMAL CRACKERS

Ingredients
3/4 cups half-and-half
1 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp Madagascar vanilla extract
2 tsp cocoa
1 egg yolk

Directions:
Heat half-and-half. Pour into bowl, leaving about 1/4 cup in saucepan or cup.
Add sugar, vanilla, cocoa to pan and mix until it is a syrup. Add egg yolk and stir over low heat. Gradually stir in preheated half-and-half. Stir until blended and thick. Pour into bowl.
Top with animal crackers.

Here's a link to several other Cocoa Soup recipes. All go well with Animal Crackers!

Enjoy this video clip of Shirley Temple singing Animal Crackers in my Soup!

White Chocolate Mole with Animal Crackers

I meant to post this recipe on National Animal Crackers Day in April but totally forgot. I guess it works well for Cinco de Mayo. Animal Crackers are often used in mole recipes for thickening.

I posted a more traditional Mole Poblano Recipe with Animal Crackers before.. but this one is for White Chocolate Mole with Animal Crackers. Definitely worth making. Recipe from Judy Walker in the Arizona Republic several years ago.

I'll be posting a round-up of "Chocolate" Cinco de Mayo recipes, so be sure to stop back.

White Chocolate Molé with Animal Crackers

Ingredients:
1/2 cup unsalted peanuts
1/4 cup sliced blanched almonds
1/4 cup walnuts
2 cups water
1 cinnamon stick, broken into pieces
2 whole cloves
1 fresh poblano chile, seeded and chopped
2 fresh serrano chiles, seeded and chopped
1 small clove garlic
1/2 white Spanish onion, cut into chunks
5 animal crackers, toasted
1/4 cup sweet butter
1/2 cup chopped white chocolate
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread peanuts, almonds and walnuts on a jelly-roll pan. Toast in the oven, shaking the pan occasionally, until the nuts are slightly colored and fragrant, 3 to 5 minutes.

In a blender, combine the nuts, water, cinnamon stick and cloves; blend until nuts are very finely ground. Strain through a medium-mesh sieve over a bowl, pressing on the solids with the back of a ladle or rubber spatula to release the liquid. Reserve the liquid and discard the solids.

In the blender, combine the chiles, garlic, onion and nut liquid. Add the animal crackers; puree until smooth. Strain through a medium-mesh sieve over a bowl, pressing on the solids with the back of a ladle or rubber spatula to release the liquid. Discard the solids.

In a large saucepan, heat the butter. Stir in the nut-chile liquid. Simmer, uncovered, over medium heat, scraping the bottom of the pan occasionally with a rubber spatula, until the mixture is the consistency of thick pea soup, about 15 minutes.

Stir in chocolate, salt and pepper until the chocolate is melted. Use immediately.

Note: The mole without the chocolate can be made ahead and refrigerated, tightly covered, for up to a week. To serve, heat in a saucepan and stir in the chocolate.

Makes about 1-1/2 cups, or 12 servings.

Chicken Mole Poblano with Animal Crackers

Recently, I'm not sure where, I read or saw something about making mole with animal crackers. I began to research this, since it makes sense. The animal cracker give the mole body and texture and a certain amount of sweetness, but using animal crackers was new to me!

Since I'm in Santa Fe for Left Coast Crime, this seemed like the perfect time to post this recipe. I've posted mole recipes before, specifically around Cinco de Mayo, so be sure and search for those recipes to compare.

I found a great recipe for Chicken Mole Poblano at Kendall Jackson. I love Kendall Jackson wines, and the wine pairing suggestion for Chicken Mole Poblano is to serve with Kendall-Jackson Grand Reserve Malbec. Good choice!

The complex flavors from toasted spices and Mexican chocolate pair wonderfully with the spicy black pepper flavors in the Malbec. The secret ingredient, animal crackers, adds a hint of sweetness and also helps to thicken the sauce.

CHICKEN MOLE POBLANO

For the chicken:
1 whole chicken
3 quarts water
½ onion
3 garlic cloves
2 bay leaves
2 Tbsp. kosher salt
1 Tbsp. freshly ground black pepper
¼ tsp. oregano

Place all ingredients in a large pot and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 1 hour or until chicken is done. Strain and reserve the liquid and chicken.

For the mole sauce:
4 Tbsp. rice oil (or other neutral flavored oil)
8 dried mulato chilies, stems and seeds removed
4 dried pasilla chilies, stems and seeds removed
4 dried ancho chilies, stems and seeds removed
2 dried cascabel or chipotle chilies, stems and seeds removed
12 almonds
¼ cup peanuts
3 garlic cloves
¼ large onion
½ plantain, diced
12 animal crackers
5 raisins
3 whole black peppercorns
2 cloves
¼ tsp. ground cinnamon
2 Tbsp. sesame seeds, toasted
5 cups reserved chicken stock
2 slices bacon
½ bar (1½ oz.) Mexican chocolate (Ibarra)

In a large heavy bottomed pan over medium heat, add the oil and sauté the chilies for approximately 3 minutes. Stir the chilies constantly, being careful not to burn them. Using a slotted spoon, remove the chilies and reserve.

Add the almonds and peanuts and cook for 2 minutes or until golden brown. Add the garlic, onions and plantains and cook until golden brown, approximately 3 minutes. Add the animal crackers and cook for 2 minutes or until golden brown.

Add the raisins, peppercorns, cloves and cinnamon and cook until aromatic. Remove from the heat and place in a blender, add the chilies, 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds and the chicken stock. Purée until the sauce is a smooth consistency.

In a small pan, cook the bacon until the fat has rendered. Remove the bacon and all but 1 tablespoon of fat from the pan (bacon can be eaten or reserved for another use). Add the chocolate to the pan. Once the chocolate has dissolved, cook for 2 minutes or until aromatic. Add the bacon fat and chocolate mixture to the purée and stir to combine.

To serve: Slice the chicken onto a platter and cover with mole sauce. Garnish with remaining sesame seeds. Serve with Mexican rice and tortillas on the side.

The extra mole sauce can be frozen for up to 2 months.