Easter is one of my favorite times of the year. This is the perfect time to teach your siblings about the true meaning of Easter. When I was younger I remember my Sunday school teacher baking Resurrection Cookies and bringing them to class to explain the Easter story. This recipe needs to be prepared the night before Easter and is a wonderful way of making the Easter story come alive to little ones. So grab your apron and have fun!

You will need:
1 cup whole pecans
1 teaspoon vinegar
3 egg whites
A pinch of salt
1 cup of sugar
A zipper baggy
1 wooden spoon
Scotch Tap
Bible

The instructions are as follows:
Preheat oven to 300 F. This is very important to do first. Do not wait to preheat the oven. Place your pecans in a zipper baggy and let your sibling beat them with the wooden spoon to break them into little pieces. Share with your brother or sister that after Jesus was arrested He was beaten by the Roman soldiers. Read John 19:1-3 to them.

Next let them smell the vinegar. Put 1 teaspoon of vinegar into the mixing bowl. This represents when Jesus was thirsty on the cross He was given vinegar to drink. Read John 19:28-30 to them.

Pour the egg whites into the bowl with the vinegar and explain the eggs represent life. Tell them Jesus gave His life to give us life. Read John 10: 10-11 to them.

Sprinkle a little bit of salt in their hand and ask them to taste it. Have them brush the rest into the bowl. This represents the salty tears that were shed by Jesus’ followers and the bitterness of sin. Read Luke 23:27 to them.

Next add 1 cup of sugar and explain that the sweetest part of the story is that Jesus died because He loves us. He wanted us to know this and most of all to belong to Him. Read Psalm 34:8 and John 3:16 to them.

Beat the ingredients with a mixer on high speed for 12 to 15 minutes until stiff peaks are formed. Tell them the color white represents the purity in God’s eyes of those whose sins have been cleansed by Jesus. Read Isaiah 1:18 and John 3:1-3.

You need to fold in the broken nuts. Next drop ingredients by a teaspoon on a waxed paper covered cookie sheet. Tell them each mound represents the rocky tomb where Jesus’ body was laid. Read Matthew 27:57-60 to them.

Put the cookie sheet in the oven and close the oven door and TURN THE OVEN OFF. Give your brother or sister a piece of tape and seal the oven door to represent Jesus’ sealed tomb. Read Matthew 27: 65-66 to them.

Next everyone needs to go to bed. Tell them they may be sad to leave the cookies in the oven overnight but this represents how Jesus’ followers felt when the tomb was sealed. Read John 16:20 & 22 to them.

On Easter morning, open the oven and give everyone a cookie. Take a bite. The cookies are all hollow. Jesus’ followers were amazed to find the tomb open and empty. Read Matthew 28: 1-9 to them.

Happy Easter everyone!!!