Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Easter Cookies

My mother-in-law, Nan, gave me this recipe. She received it from a friend in Laurel. This recipe came from a very old rural Baptist Church in Jones Co. and they use this every Easter with the children. Enjoy!

Easter Story Cookies

To be made the evening before Easter

1 c. whole pecans
1 tsp. vinegar
3 egg whites
Pinch of salt
1 c sugar
1 zip lock bag
Wooden spoon
Tape
Bible

Preheat oven to 300 degrees

Place pecans in zip lock bag and let the children beat them with the wooden spoon to break into small pieces. Explain that after Jesus was arrested, He was beaten by the Roman soldiers. Read John 10:1-3.

Let each child smell the vinegar. Put 1 tsp. vinegar into a mixing bowl. Explain that when Jesus was thirsty on the cross, He was given vinegar to drink. Read John 19:28-30.

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

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

So far the ingredients are not very appetizing. Add 1 c sugar. Explain that the sweetest part of the story is that Jesus died because He loves us. He wants us to know and belong to Him. Read Ps 34:8 and John 3:16.

Beat the egg whites and other ingredients on high speed 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. Read Isa 1:18 and John 3:1-3.

Fold in broken nuts. Drop by teaspoonsful onto a waxed paper covered cookie sheet. Explain that each mound represents the rocky tomb where Jesus’ body was laid. Read Matt.27:57-60.

Put the cookie sheet in 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 Matt. 27:65-66.

GO TO BED! Explain that they may feel sad to leave the cookies in the oven overnight. Jesus’ followers were in despair when the tomb was sealed. Read John 16:20-22.

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 Matt.28:1-9.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think this is great. I am going to try it with Kinley. Thank you for posting it. I will let you know how it goes. It is great when you can really bring lessons to life for kids. I know when she can touch and feel, she gets a better understanding. I think she gets that from her JJ (me). God bless!

Jamie

Rubies and Rewards said...

I can't wait to hear how it goes. I will keep this one to use in the future!

Anonymous said...

Wow, that is awesome! What a neat recipe! I love all of the biblical connections and what a wonderful way to help children understand the Easter story even more!

Sara Beth

Anonymous said...

Well, I hadn't updated. I did the recipe with Kinley and she had a very good time. I think it was a great way to keep the message of what Easter is truly about as the focus of our weekend with her. Although the cookies didn't turn out(they were still runny in the middle), I think it was just because we made them into BIG blobs instead of little ones. But the outside did taste good! Well that was our experience!

Jamie