January 02
John Bushnell Hanna's Birthday
 
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"Jungle Jack" Hanna was a named one of the "50 Most Beautiful People" by People magazine. He has been the host of the syndicated television show "Jack Hanna's Animal Adventures" since 1997 which was the longest-running and most-watched syndicated wildlife show in the world.

Jack was Director of the Columbus Zoo from 1978 to 1993.In 1978,. According to Jack, "My top priority was to increase attendance by offering educational and entertaining events – a goal that the zoo is still working to achieve today with the addition of a new show called Animals on Safari and the interactive Animal Encounters Village.  As a result of these and many other programs over the years, more and more people started visiting the zoo."

Increased zoo attendance also resulted as a consequence of Jack's first TV show, "Hanna's Ark," that aired on WBNS in Columbus, Ohio from 1981 until 1983. Jack's live animal demonstrations on Good Morning America and on David Letterman's talk show brought national attention to the Columbus Zoo as well as to Jack himself. However, attention is a double-edged sword.  PETA has criticized him for years for exploiting animals and states on their website that " ...exotic animals don't belong in crates any more than they belong in a TV studio, no matter how much they pay you. Here's hoping that next time you end up behind bars, it's for good."  PETA has also claimed that that Jack’s pet chimpanzee which he once took to a church bit off part of a five-year-old girl’s finger.

What could be a more appropriate celebratory recipe for Jack' birthday than  Animal Crackers? We also suggest renting out a DVD of his TV documentary series Jack Hanna's Into the Wild. One of our favorite episodes is Wild Los Angeles.

The making of home made animal cookies is a perennial favorite of of kids who enjoy both the taste and their ability to bite the heads off of the tiny animals. Kids also enjoy cutting them out of the dough and baking them which is often their first experience in cooking. In the late 1800s, animal-shaped cookies (or "biscuits" in British terminology) called "Animals" were imported from England to the United States. The demand for these crackers grew to the point that bakers began to produce them domestically.  In 1902 the  circus animal crackers made by Nabisco officially became "Barnum's Animals."
 

  

Animal Crackers

  
Ingredients
 		  
1/2 cup rolled oats
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt 		1/4 cup butter
2 tsp honey
1/4 cup plain yogurt
 		  

Instructions
 		  
  1. Preheat the oven to 400° F.
  2. Grind oats until fine using a blender or food processor.
  3. In a medium bowl, stir together the blended oats, flour, baking soda, and salt.
  4. Cut in the butter using a pastry blender or your fingers until the butter lumps are smaller than peas. Stir in the yogurt and honey to form a stiff dough.
  5. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to 1/8 inch in thickness. Cut into desired shapes with cookie cutters. Place cookies 1 inch apart onto cookie sheets.
  6. Bake for 5 to 7 minutes in the preheated oven, until edges are lightly browned. Remove from cookie sheets to cool on wire racks.

Makes about 2 dozen cookies, depending on the size of your cookie cutters.

  

© 2011 Gordon Nary and Tyler Stokes