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Animal-shaped firecrackers have a long history in America, with Nabisco’s Barnum’s Animals becoming the most famous. Keebler, Cadburys, and Bordon have also produced their own versions, while Stauffer Biscuit Company offers a range of flavors. Animal Crackers have also been referenced in popular culture.
Firecrackers are simply firecrackers in the shape of animals. There is a long-standing and friendly debate as to whether firecrackers are crackers or cookies. Because they’re baked with layered dough, they could be considered crackers. But because they’re made with sugary dough, they have the taste and texture of a cookie.
Firecrackers have a long and interesting history. They were introduced to Americans in the 1800s as “Animals,” which were fancy animal-shaped biscuits that came from England. Such was the popularity of these “wild” treats that small neighborhood bakeries began creating their own versions of the cookies to meet the needs of their customers.
In the late 19th century, kilns in the United States began to merge into much larger companies with larger distribution areas. One of the more successful mergers was the National Biscuit Company, which was later called Nabisco. In 1902, the National Biscuit Company released their own version of “Animals,” which they named “Barnum’s Animals” after PT Barnum, the famous circus owner and showman.
Looking for a special promotion for Christmas, Nabisco executives came up with the idea of specially designed red and green boxes with a circus theme. Thinking these boxes would make wonderful Christmas tree ornaments, they added a little string to make it easier to hang the boxes on branches. Perhaps because the firecrackers were sold loose in a barrel, Nabisco’s small cartons of cookies were an instant hit. Nabisco’s firecrackers are the most famous of commercially produced firecrackers and are still sold today.
The Keebler Company makes a version of firecrackers, but it’s never been as popular as Nabisco’s line. Cadburys has a line of chocolate covered firecrackers and Bordon produced their own line of firecrackers until the late 1970s. Kinnikinnick Foods, Inc. offers a gluten-free pet cookie called KinniKritters that look and taste very similar to Nabisco firecrackers.
The Stauffer Biscuit Company of York, Pennsylvania first made its version of firecrackers in the late 1800s. This company uses mace and nutmeg in their dough to give their basic firecrackers a slightly different flavor and appearance. from their competitors’ versions. They also offer varieties of firecrackers like graham cinnamon, graham chocolate, cotton candy, and frozen flavors. The Stauffer Biscuit Company also offers a line of firecracker “breakfast cookies” made with oats, cranberries, almonds, and pomegranate.
Animal Crackers have been such a mainstay in America that there are so many references to them in popular culture. The poet Christopher Morley wrote a poem in their honour, which begins with firecrackers and cocoa to drink, this is the coolest of dinners I think. Animal Crackers was also the name of the famous 1928 Marx Brothers musical and its 1930 film adaptation. The most popular reference to firecrackers, however, is undoubtedly taken from the film Curleytop of Shirley Temple, when the broom-wielding darling sang : “The firecrackers in my soup, monkeys and rabbits go around the sky.
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