This is my absolute favorite Easter activity from childhood – above the egg hunts, the Easter baskets, and all other crafts. I still remember making these Easter Resurrection Cookies (a.k.a. Easter Story Cookies, Empty Tomb Cookies, or Jesus Cookies) when I was a kid, and now I have the great joy of sharing it with my own children!
This recipe is great for the whole family – kids of all ages can (and should) participate! It’s a great way to experience the Gospel with all five senses.
- Hear the nuts crack under the mallet
- Touch the broken nuts
- Smell the vinegar that Jesus drank on the cross
- See the meringue turn white
- Taste the sweetness of the love of God and the joy of Easter morning!
I’m pretty sure that, because it involves all five senses (in such a visceral way), this activity is sure to teach the Easter story and its meaning in a way that kids will never forget! It’s my first clear memory of hearing the Gospel story, though I know my parents shared it with me in many ways when I was even younger.
Can children participate when making Easter Resurrection Cookies?
Absolutely – that’s the point! Children of all ages can enjoy and participate in this tradition. Beating the nuts, tasting (or even just smelling) the vinegar, tasting the salt, tasting the sugar – don’t all children want to sample everything we cook and bake with? The novelty of getting so many samples is enough to engage most children! It’s also very cool to watch a meringue take shape, turning from clear to bright white.
When we take the time to explain the symbolism to our children, it takes on even more meaning. They will feel like they are part of the story and will have a better understanding of it by the time they finish helping. Most children feel great pride when they master a new story or understand something new. That’s especially true with something so big and important as Jesus’ death and resurrection!
If you have been observing Lent, it may also be a very special treat for children to get to make some cookies for the first time in a while! I also remember racing my brother to the oven first thing on Easter morning, eager to peek at those cookies. Eating those cookies (even before breakfast!) sweetens the day just a little bit more.
Sure, Easter doesn’t need much more sweetening. But at least these cookies put the focus on Jesus and not just on the Easter bunny!
When is the best time to make Easter Resurrection Cookies?
I like to make Easter Resurrection Cookies on Easter Even (Holy Saturday) so that they’re ready for Easter morning. However, if you don’t need your oven between Good Friday and Easter morning, you could even make them earlier.
To really make the Easter Resurrection Cookies line up with the Passion narrative, you could make them, beginning at just before 3pm on Good Friday, when Jesus died on the Cross. Then leave them in the oven until Easter morning!
It’s a long time to wait (and to be without an oven, especially if you’re trying to prep for hosting Easter), but it’s my goal to make it happen one of these years!
Can both Protestants and Catholics make Easter Resurrection Cookies?
Yes! I was raised Protestant, so that was my first experience making these cookies. It was deeply meaningful to me then, and it remains so for my lovely Protestant family members.
As an adult, I am an Anglican Catholic (with a pretty strong emphasis on the Catholic). Making these cookies is still just as important to me now as it ever was.
This is truly an activity for all Christians!
Can children learn the Easter story by making Easter Resurrection Cookies?
Yes! Making these cookies (and doing the accompanying readings) is a great way, especially for young children, to experience the Gospel in a memorable way. Who could forget cookies?!?
However, I think it’s important to read the full Easter story from the Gospels at least once each year. You can find the Passion narrative in all four Gospels. Pick one for the year or read them all! In the 1928 Book of Common Prayer’s Mass Readings, we read the Passion narrative from all four Gospel throughout Holy Week. I have found this practice to be incredibly helpful for my spiritual formation.
I have also noticed that praying the Stations of the Cross and the Rosary have given me even more to think and pray about when baking these cookies. They may be a bit advanced for young children to fully grasp, but older children, and especially teens and adults, may find them to be valuable devotions that deepen one’s understanding of scripture.
I think we can always go even deeper when meditating on our Lord’s Passion, so I would recommend that everyone try praying the Stations of the Cross and/or the Rosary, at least once (even if you aren’t Catholic). They are ancient Christian devotions that have yielded spiritual fruit for centuries!
Can I make Easter Resurrection Cookies at church or somewhere outside the home?
If you have a hand mixer and an oven, you can make these Easter Resurrection Cookies! Our church has a kitchen with an oven, so I hope to lead this activity for the children in our parish this year.
If you do not have an oven available in the place where you would like to make these Easter Resurrection Cookies, a toaster oven may work for a small batch, though you would probably need to leave it on for 8-10 minutes before turning it off (as you would need to do with a gas or convection oven) since it won’t hold heat as well as a conventional oven.
How can I make sure that the Easter Resurrection Cookies fully bake?
It depends on your oven. In a conventional electric oven, you should be able to safely put the cookies in the oven, turn it off, and go to bed.
However, if you have a gas or convection oven, it may not retain quite enough heat. Either leave the oven on for 8-10 minutes before shutting it off or shut it off, then after the kids are in bed, reheat the oven to 300°F, bake for 8 minutes, then shut the oven off. No need to mess with the tape – simply leave it sealed.
Supplies
- Ziploc bag – a storage or freezer bag is better than a sandwich bag because they are less likely to tear when you are beating the nuts!
- Mallet or meat tenderizer
- Mixing bowl
- Electric mixer (stand mixer or hand mixer)
- Tape
- 2 baking sheets
- Parchment paper
- Teaspoon
Ingredients
- 1 cup walnuts – dry roasted for best flavor. Other nuts (pecans, almonds, etc.) will also work.
- 1 tsp white vinegar – plus more for tasting
- 3 egg whites
- Pinch of salt – plus more for tasting
- 1 cup of sugar
Directions
Step 1: Preheat oven to 300°F.
Step 2 – Jesus is Beaten: Read John 19:1-3 and Isaiah 53:5. Place 1 cup of walnuts (or other nuts) in a bag and beat them with a meat tenderizer or mallet until they are broken into small pieces. Set the broken nuts aside.
Step 3 – Jesus Dies on the Cross: Read John 19:28-30 and taste the vinegar. Put 1 tsp of vinegar into a mixing bowl.
Step 4 – Jesus Gave His Life So That We May Have Life: Read John 10:10-11 and discuss how eggs symbolize life. Add the three egg whites to the vinegar in the mixing bowl.
Step 5 – Jesus’ Followers Mourn His Death: Read Luke 23:27 and taste the salt. Add a pinch of salt to the mixing bowl.
Step 6 – The Sweetness of the Love of God: Read John 3:16 and taste the sugar. Add 1 cup of sugar to the mixing bowl.
Step 7 – Our Sins are Washed Away by Jesus: Read Isaiah 1:18 and John 3:1-3. Beat with a mixer on high speed for 12-15 minutes, until stiff peaks are formed. Watch as the mixture turns a brilliant white (and think about how white symbolizes purity)!
Step 8 – Jesus is Buried: Read Matthew 27:57-60 and think about Jesus’ rocky tomb. Gently fold the broken nuts into the meringue, then drop teaspoon-sized dollops onto cookie sheets lined with parchment.
Step 9 – The Tomb is Sealed: Read Matthew 27:62-66 and think about how the chief priests, Pharisees, and Pilate all wanted to ensure that there was no possibility of deception. Put the cookies in the oven, close the door, and turn it off (Note: if you have a gas oven or convection oven, leave it on for 8-10 minutes, then turn it off). Seal the oven door with a piece of tape.
Step 10 – Jesus’ Followers Depart: Read John 16:20-22 and think about how Jesus’ followers felt as they left the tomb. Go to bed and leave the cookies in the oven overnight.
Step 11 – The Empty Tomb – Jesus is Risen! Read Matthew 28:1-9. Open the oven and observe the cookies. They’re cracked! Now, take a bite. They’re hollow (empty)!
Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!
Equipment
- Mallet or meat tenderizer
- Mixing bowl
- Electric mixer (stand mixer or hand mixer)
- 2 baking sheets
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Easter Resurrection Cookies
Easter Resurrection Cookies are a great family baking activity for Easter! Teach kids the Gospel with all five senses – they’ll never forget!
- Total Time: 8 hours 30 minutes
- Yield: About 60 cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup walnuts (or pecans or other nut of choice)
- 1 tsp white vinegar, plus more for tasting
- 3 egg whites
- Pinch of salt
- 1 cup sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300°F
- Jesus is Beaten: Read John 19:1-3 and Isaiah 53:5. Place 1 cup of walnuts (or other nuts) in a bag and beat them with a meat tenderizer or mallet until they are broken into small pieces. Set the broken nuts aside.
- Jesus Dies on the Cross: Read John 19:28-30 and taste the vinegar. Put 1 tsp of vinegar into a mixing bowl.
- Jesus Gave His Life So That We May Have Life: Read John 10:10-11 and discuss how eggs symbolize life. Add the three egg whites to the vinegar in the mixing bowl.
- Jesus’ Followers Mourn His Death: Read Luke 23:27 and taste the salt. Add a pinch of salt to the mixing bowl.
- The Sweetness of the Love of God: Read John 3:16 and taste the sugar. Add 1 cup of sugar to the mixing bowl.
- Our Sins are Washed Away by Jesus: Read Isaiah 1:18 and John 3:1-3. Beat with a mixer on high speed for 12-15 minutes, until stiff peaks are formed. Watch as the mixture is beaten and turns a brilliant white (and think about how white symbolizes purity)!
- Jesus is Buried: Read Matthew 27:57-60 and think about Jesus’ rocky tomb. Gently fold the broken nuts into the meringue, then drop teaspoon-sized dollops onto cookie sheets lined with parchment.
- The Tomb is Sealed: Read Matthew 27:62-66 and think about how the chief priests, Pharisees, and Pilate all wanted to ensure that there was no possibility of deception. Put the cookies in the oven, close the door, and turn it off (see notes for gas or convection ovens). Seal the oven door with a piece of tape.
- Jesus’ Followers Depart: Read John 16:20-22 and think about how Jesus’ followers felt as they left the tomb. Go to bed and leave the cookies in the oven overnight.
- The Empty Tomb – Jesus is Risen! Read Matthew 28:1-9. Open the oven and observe the cookies. They’re cracked! Now take a bite. They’re hollow (empty)!
Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!
Notes
If you have a gas oven or convection oven, don’t turn it off immediately! Leave it on for 8-10 minutes, then turn it off.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 8 hours
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Gluten-Free, Vegetarian
Nutrition Facts
Amount Per Cookie
Calories: 31 kcal
Fat: 2g
Total Carbohydrates: 4g
Fiber: 0g
Protein: 1g
The nutrition data provided here is for informational only and is only an estimate based on an online nutrition calculator. It cannot be verified or guaranteed, and should not be used in the treatment of medical conditions. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice This data should be interpreted and used at your own risk.
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