Furikake Animal Crackers

Furikake Chex Mix is one of the recipes I am most known for and these furikake animal crackers are a sweet and salty simplified treat. Crunchy animal crackers get coated in a buttery, sweet-and-salty shoyu glaze and plenty of furikake, then baked until crisp.

The first time I had these was just a few weeks ago at an event hosted by Chef Sheldon Simeon. These weren’t at the restaurant but they were in the PR package I picked up on my way out, and I ended up eating the whole bag on the plane ride home.

I adapted Chef Sheldon’s version to incorporate elements of my Furikake Chex Mix and the result is utterly addictive.

Ingredients

24 oz plain animal crackers

½ cup unsalted butter

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 tbsp shoyu

1/3 cup karo syrup

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup furikake

1. Preheat oven to 250°F and line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. Divide the animal crackers between the two pans.

2. Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add brown sugar and shoyu. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and stir in karo syrup and neutral oil.

3. Pour the glaze over the animal crackers. Sprinkle furikake over the crackers and gently toss to coat.

4. Bake for approximately 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes and rotating the pans halfway through.

5. Remove from the oven and let cool completely. Once crisp, transfer to an airtight container and enjoy.

Furikake animal crack