Resurrection Cookies Recipe

Easter has become my very favorite holiday.  (Which is saying a lot, since pretty much every holiday is one of my favorite holidays. You know?) It will be here before we know it, and I am beginning to think about the preparations for it.  A few years ago, I began hearing about all these great things you could do for Easter with your kids, and there are so many options to choose from.  We finally found one we love 1) because it's easy and makes a statement, and 2) because it's amazingly yummy.  (Most of my life is decided by that criteria.) Our family makes Resurrection cookies the night before Easter.  I asked my kiddos if they would help me make a batch early, so I could share them with you guys, and as long as I promised to let them eat ten cookies a piece, they agreed.  They drive a really hard bargain.  Hoodlums.  I found the original recipe somewhere on the internet a couple of years ago, so I'm sorry I don't have the link to give credit where it's due. Lastly, I'll be taking the next week off for Spring Break.  I know I said I was taking last week off... but then I didn't.  Because I'm a girl.  Girls change their minds sometimes. 

Gather the following: 
1 cup whole pecans
1 tsp vinegar
3 egg whites
pinch salt
1 cup sugar
*Preheat oven to 300 degrees.  (This is super important!) Put the pecans into a ziplock bag and let your hoodlums beat the pecans with a rolling pin, to break them into pieces.
Explain that after Jesus was arrested, he was beaten by the Roman soldiers, and read John 19:1-3.

 Let each child smell the vinegar.  Put one teaspoon of vinegar into a mixing bowl.
Explain that when Jesus was thirsty on the cross, he was given vinegar to drink, and read John 19:28-30. 

Add egg whites to vinegar.  Eggs represent life.
Explain that Jesus gave His life to give us life, and read John 10:10-11. 

 Sprinkle a little bit of salt into your child's hand.  Let them taste it and then brush the rest into the bowl.
Explain that this represents the salty tears shed by Jesus' followers, and the bitterness of our own sin.  Now read Luke 23:27. 


So far, the ingredients aren't very appetizing.  Add the cup of sugar.
Explain that the sweetest part of the story is that Jesus died because He loves us, and He wants us to know and belong to Him.  Read Psalm 34:8 and John 3:16.

 Beat all the ingredients with a mixer on high speed for about 12 minutes, until stiff peaks are formed.
Explain that the color white represents the purity in God's eyes of those whose sins have been cleansed by Jesus, and read Isaiah 1:18 and John 3:1-3.  

 Fold in the broken nuts.  Drop by teaspoonfuls onto wax paper covered cookie sheets.  (Um.  Or if you forgot to buy that, just use foil.)
Explain that each mound represents the rocky tomb where Jesus' body was laid.  Read Matthew 27: 57-60. 

 Put the cookie sheet into the oven, close the door, and turn the oven OFF.  Give each child a piece of tape, and seal the oven door.
Explain that Jesus' tomb was sealed.  Read Matthew 27:65-66

 Now put your babies to bed.  (I will still call my children babies when they are 25 years old.)
Explain that they might feel kind of sad to leave the cookies in the oven overnight.  Jesus' followers were in despair when the tomb was sealed.  Read John 16:20 and 22.

On Easter morning, open the oven and give everyone a cookie.  Notice the cracked surface and take a bite.  The cookies are hollow!  On the first Easter, Jesus' followers were amazed to find the tomb open and empty.  Read Matthew 28: 1-9

He has RISEN!