We decided to write this brief article for those of you curious about how many calories there are within animal crackers. Obviously this question is very difficult to answer, because there are so many different types of animal crackers, all having there own calories volume. In the sections below, we will give some average figures, as well as go into depth about how to regulate the calorie level in homemade animal crackers. The beauty of animal crackers as a snack food, is that they can contain a very low number of calories, while still remaining delicious. This is probably the reason why animal crackers are not officially labeled as cookies, because generally speaking they are much lighter in density and sugar than typical cookies. If you are a calorie counter or dieting, then you will really enjoy this snack. If you're not particularly concerned about calories, then obviously there are denser and more sugar rich animal crackers out there.
As you have probably noticed, all of our recipes have a calories per serving figure listed. This figure was calculated with the assistance of a certified nutritionist, so the number should be extremely accurate. It should be noted that in order to have your own calorie figure close to ours, then you should use the same type and proportion of ingredients listed. Slight variations in the proportions and brand of ingredients can throw off the calorie figure quite a bit, in which case you will have to recalculate the figure using your own estimate. To recalculate the number, simply adjust the calories level by using the labels on your ingredients, adding those figures to our own number when brand or proportion substitutions are used, then adjusting it according to the total servings. This can be tedious and sometimes difficult to do, especially if you are in a hurry, however once you get the hang of crunching the numbers, it will be a breeze. Drop us a note if you need any help with the figures.
With regard to the calorie level in some of the better known brands of animal crackers, we've researched the topic and put together the following figures. Stauffer's plain animal crackers contain roughly 120 calories for every sixteen crackers. Barnum's plain animal crackers contain roughly 130 calories for every sixteen crackers. The Austin Zoo brand animal crackers generally have about 110 calories for every sixteen crackers. A sixteen animal crackers serving is a large handful of crackers, and probably about the amount that someone would eat in a single sitting. If you choose the chocolate or chocolate dipped animal crackers flavors, then obviously you're going to be consuming roughly the same amount of calories that are contained in a candy bar. Cheese and pizza flavored animal crackers also tend to be very heavy on the calories, as they usually contained more saturated fat than the regular lightly sweetened type.
The best way to get your hands on an extra low calorie batch of animal crackers, is to make your own from scratch. We have hundreds of animal crackers recipes to choose from, many of which contain a low number of calories per serving. To give you an idea of how to make your batch slim on the calories, you should consider only adding a very small amount of sugar or honey to the cracker dough. Another calorie cutting method would be leave out the eggs and dairy base, and replace them with soy milk and some light oil, such as extra virgin olive oil. Many of our lower calorie recipes are just as delicious as their high calories counterparts, so we would really encourage you to give them a try, especially if you are losing weight. That wraps up this article, we hope you enjoyed reading through it. If you have any questions at all regarding the calorie level of animal crackers, then do be sure and send our staff an email.
