Three-Ring Animal Cookies



"Surprise your friends with a circus parade of jaunty animal cookies," - Better Homes and Gardens 
Junior Cook Book for the Hostess & Host of tomorrow (c. 1955)
What I love more than vintage cookbooks are the recipes inside them that reveal a culinary history of baking and cooking. Trends may come and go, but a good old-fashioned party dessert will always be a favorite.

I searched through some recent cookbooks and saw this one for a children's birthday party. My inner Betty Draper was immediately excited and I had to make them. But would anyone dare to eat so much sugar in one cookie? 

Three-Ring Animal Cookies

 2 cups confectioners (powdered) sugar
2 T. milk
dash of salt
½ teaspoon vanilla
1 box of vanilla wafer cookies
1 box or bag of Circus Animal Cookies

Sift confectioners sugar onto waxed paper or parchment paper. Pick up ends of paper and pour into mixing bowl.


Add milk, salt, and vanilla and beat well. If frosting is too thick, add a ½ teaspoon more milk.

Put one vanilla wafer cookie on a plate or cookie sheet. Spread about 1 teaspoon of frosting on top, place another vanilla wafer cookie to top. 


Next, spread about 1 teaspoon of frosting to the very top of the cookies. Then place one Circus Animal Cookie on top. 


 The longer you let the frosting sit, the stickier it will become so the cookies hold better. Let the cookies cool and remove gently when ready to serve.


"...they can double as a centerpiece for party table." 
- Better Homes and Gardens Junior Cook Book for the Hostess & Host of tomorrow (c. 1955)




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