Making Easter Story Cookies (Aka, resurrection cookies) is a fun way to celebrate the true meaning of Easter with your kids! It’s become a beloved tradition at our house on Holy Saturday. Each ingredient for the cookies has a symbolism to the resurrection story, and the process of making the cookies all represents the resurrection and has coordinating Scripture! This post has full directions and a picture tutorial for making the cookies. You can find all of my holy week food ideas for kids here.
Each ingredient in this recipe is symbolic of a part of the Easter story and goes with a correlating Bible verse. I made a printable version of this recipe that includes all the Bible verses right on the recipe. This way, you don’t have to drag your bible or your laptop into the kitchen to be covered in raw eggs. 😉
The Easter story cookie download is included in my new cookbook for families– The Symbolic Holy Week & Easter Cookbook! This cookbook includes 23 recipes that point to the true meaning of Easter. It only includes 29 pages of bonus printables! You do not want to miss this amazing resource.
Why Should You Make Easter Story Cookies With Your Kids?
I got this beautiful note from a reader about her experience of making Easter Story cookies with her children over the years, and I just had to share it with y’all!
“When my oldest was little we would stand over the dining table and read the Good Friday story. I remember watching her flinch as we would hammer the pecans and then she would help me place the tray in the oven. Every year her face would light up when she would bite into the cookie and see the hollow. She turned 15 this past week, and it’s my prayer that all three of my kids will carry on these family traditions to their own kids to make their Easter mornings more meaningful. This year, thanks to the blessing of your cookbook, we will have new recipes to add. I look at your Family Cookbook as a way to bond families together, strengthen their faith, and through it all, remember the greatest sacrifice ever paid. A simple story read while making a recipe could be that turning point for a child to commit their hearts to Christ. Your cookbook is more than just a cookbook, Lacy. It’s so much more.” -Marina from Mommy Snippets
What we are doing does matter! Let’s make this Easter more meaningful to our kids than ever before. Ok, on with the recipe!
Symbolic Ingredients Needed For Easter Story Cookies:
- 1 cup whole pecans
- 1 tsp vinegar
- 3 egg whites
- Pinch of salt
- 1 cup sugar
Other Supplies Needed:
- Zipper baggie (gallon sized)
- Wooden Spoon
- Tape
Symbolism Behind Easter Story Cookie Ingredients
Each of the ingredients represents something from the passion story. I want to go over these super quick before we get started.
- Pecans- these get “beaten” during the process of making the cookies like Jesus was beaten before he was crucified. This is how the pecans become crushed for the recipe.
- Vinegar- the kids smell and taste this as what Jesus was offered to drink on the cross when he gets thirsty, and then it is added to the cookies.
- Eggs- eggs represent new life! Just as Jesus lives and emerges from the tomb, chicks hatch and emerge from the egg. Both are left empty in the end.
- Salt– kids taste this as they are reminded of the saltiness of the tears that the weeping women and children of Jerusalem cried for Jesus.
- Sugar- represents the sweetness of the resurrection and our salvation through the rising of Jesus.
- Oven– this symbolizes the tomb that Jesus’ body was placed in, and the kids actually have to leave the cookies sealed inside overnight.
The full recipe for Easter Story cookies plus the Scripture story is for free from this post, but if you would like to purchase the Easter Story cookie download, your wish is granted! This comes with everything you need to make the Easter story cookies, Scripture included! You can grab yours from my shop for just $2.
How To Make Easter Story Cookies (With Scripture Verses)
Preheat your oven to 300 degrees F. (This is very important!) Place your pecans inside your zipper baggie. Read John 19: verses 1 and 3
“Then Pilate took Jesus and scourged him. They came up to him saying, ‘Hail, King of the Jews!’ and struck him with their hands.”
Let your children take turns beating the pecans into small pieces with your wooden spoon.
Next, take out the vinegar and let all the children smell it. Explain to them that when Jesus was thirsty on the cross, this is what they offered him to drink. Add your vinegar to the bowl. Read John 19: 28-30
“After this Jesus… said , ‘I thirst.’ A bowl of vinegar stood there; so they put a sponge full of the vinegar on hyssop and held it to his mouth. When Jesus had received the vinegar, he said, “it is finished”; and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.”
Add the egg whites. Explain to your children that eggs represent life. Then tell them that Jesus gave his life for each and every one of us. Read John 10: 10-11
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”
Next, let put a tiny bit of salt on each of your children’s hands, and let them taste it. Tell them that this salt represents the salty tears of Jesus’ followers that loved him very much. Have them add it to the bowl. Read Luke 23:27
And there followed him a great multitude of the people, and of women who bewailed and lamented him.“
Let the children hold their hands out again, and this time, give them each a taste of the sugar. Tell them that this is the sweet part of the story because Jesus died for our sins because he loves us! Read John 3:16
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
Beat the mixture with your mixer on high.
Keep beating on high for 12-15 minutes or until still peaks form. The mixture is now pure white.
Explain to your children that this symbolizes Jesus’ purity because Jesus never sinned. Read John 3:1-3
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“Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.”
Fold in the beaten pecans.
Drop by the teaspoon full onto a cookie sheet covered with wax paper.
Tell your children that these lumpy mounds represent the tomb where Jesus’ body was laid. Read Matthew 27:58-60
“He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. And Joseph took the body, and wrapped it in a clean linen shroud, and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn in the rock; and he rolled a great stone to the door of the tomb, and departed.”
Put the cookies in the oven, and turn the oven OFF!
Give each child a piece of tape to “seal” the oven. Read Matthew 27:65
“Pilate said to them, ‘You have a guard of soldiers; go, make it as secure as you can.’ So they went and made the sepulchre secure by sealing the stone and setting a guard.”
Explain how the disciples were in despair to leave Jesus’ body in the tomb. Explain to your children that you must leave your cookies in the sealed oven overnight, even if it makes them feel sad. Read John 16:20 and 22, then go to bed.
“Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy. So you have sorrow now, but I will see you again and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.”
Open the oven on Easter morning! Your cookies are hollow, just like Jesus’ tomb was on Easter morning!
Read Matthew 28:6 and eat your cookies!
“He is not here; for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay.”
We really enjoy these Easter Story Cookies, and enjoy eating them every Easter morning! 🙂
Again, for your printable version of this recipe, just check out the special page I have exclusively for Catholic Icing subscribers. (Read more about how to access subscriber bonuses, like this one.)
What’s Included In The Easter Story Cookies Download
The ingredients list, all the directions for making the cookies, and all of the Scripture integrated into the recipe to read as you go. There is also a bonus recipe card and a table display card! This is perfect for displaying beside your plate of cookies so everyone knows the symbolism behind them.
Grab your printable Easter story cookie pack now!
Find My Lenten Resources For Kids here
Silly rabbit! Easter is for Jesus!!!
You can find all of my Christ-centered resources for Easter here.
Make it about the lamb, not the bunny!
This past week I helped the kids in my daughter’s preschool class make the Resurrection rolls. My daughter keeps telling everyone about them! I think we might have to make them again when Grandma and Grandpa get here for Easter.
What if you’re not on Facebook? How can I get a copy of the recipe to do with my Godchildren?
The entire recipe is in this post. 🙂
We love these too, Lacy! Just wanted to wish you a beautiful and blessed Holy Week! Thank you for all you share and do:)
We’ve made these a few times. Yummy! Here are two tips: Make sure your oven is all the way heated and don’t make them too big! Last year they were too big and were a bit ‘raw’.
That´s a nice recipe and for sure I´ll try it.
I´m here to ask for your authorization to post the Portuguese version of the recipe in my blog, of course referencing yours.
Thanks for sharing so many beautiful things.
Ju
Sure! This recipe is actually all over the place. No idea who actually started this tradition. As long as you type it up in your own words, there shouldn’t be any problems with using it. 🙂
I’m a little slow… do I add the vinegar to the recipe? or is it just to understand?
Yes, it goes in the recipe. Did I forget to say that? Maybe I’m the one who’s slow! 🙂
Do you have a good idea for a substitute for the pecans? We are allergic to nuts in our house but I love the symbolism! I have made these with chocolate chips, maybe a big chocolate bar crushed into chunks?
Sounds like a good idea to me! 🙂
This is such a great idea! I think I’ll start a new Easter tradition with this one!
Can these be made and eat them the same day or do they have to set in the oven over night? Can they be made in a toaster oven? I would like to do this for my Sunday school class and we dont have a oven in our class room.
I haven’t tried them in a toaster oven, but you could do a trial run. Baking them the day before is not a problem.
How many will this recipe make and should they be stored in container with airtight lid or loose fitting lid? I believe crunchy cookies in containers with tight lid and soft cookies in containers with loose fitting lid
I let the oven cool down completely ( a few hours) and they’re set and ready to eat. I don’t think a toaster oven would stay warm enough when turn off to do the job.
Hi Lacy,
Just found your blog, looking for some ideas for my middle school SS. I LOVE it. But we have serious tree nut allergies. Could i use chocolate chips? If doing with kids, could they break up chocolate bars?
peace
Yes, I really do think that chocolate bars would work just fine. 🙂
These look fantastic. I will be trying these with my children this Holy Saturday!
I would like to join Catholic Icing but when I enter my email address I never get anything in my email to complete my enrollment.
HELP!
Glenda –
I looked up your email address in the system Lacy uses for newsletters, and it showed you as an unconfirmed subscriber. You would have received an email after you signed up that you needed to click on to confirm your email subscription.
Since you clearly want to subscribe, however, I was able to click to confirm your email subscription. Make sure to watch your spam folder for the email that would have just been sent to you.
Do you have to use a mixer like the one shown in the photos? or will a small submersion blender work? Thank you for sharing the recipe.
Does every listed ingredient go into the batter? Or are some of them just for the kids to smell and taste as part of the story?
Yes, they all go in.
Thank you for this great recipe and idea for the Easter story eggs! REally looking forward to doing this with my children. Blessings!
How long do these need to stay in the oven? I like the idea of making them on Friday and eating them on Sunday, but I want to use my oven in Saturday… I love this recipe! Using hands on things to teach this lesson is amazing! I will certainly be subscribing to get the printable! Well done!
You can certainly take them out whenever you like.
Hi, do you think that using artificial sugar would work for these?
The end result didn’t turn out for me, I think it was the substitutions I added, because as soon as I added the sugar free chocolate in place of pecans it bubbled up and turned to a liquid. I spread it on a pan and it was goopy but my family still ate it and enjoyed it. It was a great activity and no one minded the end result all things considered 🙂
The process of making these was very powerful! I love how it illuminates the crucifixion. I am so thankful I found your blog and the resources you share. Thank you!