ʻOno at Home: Furikake Animal Crackers from Chef Sheldon Simeon

Chef Sheldon Simeon’s second cookbook “Ohana Style” is almost here. Available on March 31, 2026, the collection includes more than 100 approachable recipes celebrating the culinary traditions of the Islands.

From nightly dinners to family-style potlucks and local snacks, the cookbook is rooted in ʻohana, embracing everyday moments and keeping the family cooks in mind.

(You can preorder a copy on Amazon here.)

This Friday, March 27, Andaz Maui at Wailea Resort is celebrating the launch of the new cookbook with the chef. The night includes a three-course ʻohana-style feast, live music and a book signing with Simeon.

READ MORE: Chef Sheldon Simeon’s Second Cookbook is For Everyone

For the home cooks, Simeon shares a recipe for furikake animal crackers along with an excerpt from his new cookbook. The chef writes, “My first cookbook had a recipe for furikake Chex mix that I was very proud of. Well, these are the next rung up on the snack ladder: animal crackers baked in a salty-sweet shoyu glaze and coated in sesame and nori.”

Furikake Animal Crackers Recipe 

Serves 12 

Ingredients: 

• 24 ounces plain animal crackers 
• 4 tablespoons (½ stick) salted butter 
• ¼ cup sugar 
• 1 tablespoon shoyu (soy sauce) 
• ¼ cup agave syrup 
• ¼ cup neutral oil 
• ½ cup furikake (see note) 

*Note: This recipe uses a store-bought variety of furikake called nori fumi, which can be found in many supermarkets and contains just nori, sesame seeds, sugar, and salt. Don’t worry if the furikake you have doesn’t have the same exact name, as long as it has close to that combination of seasonings.

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 250 F and position the racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven.
• Spread the animal crackers out over two large sheet pans.
• While the oven is heating, in a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the sugar and shoyu and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the agave and oil. Pour the syrup over the animal crackers, then sprinkle on the furikake, using a silicone spatula or wooden spoon to stir the crackers until evenly coated. 
• Bake, stirring the animal crackers in each pan about every 15 minutes, until the crackers are golden and starting to brown around the edges, about 1 hour. Swap the sheet pans from top to bottom halfway through for even browning. 
• Let cool completely, stirring occasionally to keep the crackers from sticking together (they will look wet and soft when they come out of the oven, but will dry and harden as they cool). Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week. 

You can preorder a copy of “Ohana Style,” on Amazon here. For more information and other presale options, visit here. 

Reprinted with permission from Ohana Style: Food from Hawaiʻi, for Your Family by Sheldon Simeon; with Garrett Snyder, copyright © 2026. Published by Clarkson Potter Publishers, an imprint of Penguin Random House. 

Photographs copyright © 2026 by Kevin Miyazaki 

ʻOno at Home is HAWAIʻI Magazine’s recipe series that brings the flavors of the Islands to you, wherever you are in the world.