This is a recipe I want to do with my daughter tonight, and you can do it with your kids as well. It is a great way to spend some time with them, and explain the true meaning of Easter to them. It isn’t about the bunnies, the eggs & chocolates, but that there is a much larger, more fulfilling, reason to Easter.
Begin this recipe on Saturday, the day before Easter.
What you will need:
1 cup whole pecans
1 teaspoon vinegar
3 egg whites
pinch salt
1 cup sugar
zipper baggie
wooden spoon or a wooden meat hammer
duct tape or packing tape
Bible
Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
Place pecans in zipper baggie and let children beat them with the wooden spoon or hammer to break them into small pieces.
Explain that after Jesus was arrested he was beaten by the Roman soldiers. Read John 19:1-3.
Let each child smell the vinegar. Put 1 teaspoon of vinegar into the 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 the 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. Then put your pinch of salt in the bowl.
Explain that this represents the salty tears shed by Jesus’s followers, and the bitterness of our own sin. Read Luke 23:27
So far, the ingredients are not very appetizing! Add 1 cup sugar to the bowl.
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 Psalm 34:8 and John 3:16.
Beat with a mixer on high speed for 10 to 15 minutes until stiff peaks form.
Explain that 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.
Fold in broken nuts. Drop by teaspoons onto wax paper covered cookie sheets.
Explain that each mound represents the rocky tomb where Jesus’s body was laid. Read Matthew 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 to seal the oven door.
Explain that Jesus’ tomb was sealed. Read Matthew 27:65-66.
Leave the kitchen. If you’ve been making these cookies just before bedtime, GO TO BED!
Acknowledge that the kids are probably sad that they’ve worked hard to make these cookies, and now have to leave them in the oven overnight. Explain that Jesus’ followers were in sad when Jesus died and the tomb was sealed. Read John 16:20 and 22.
On Easter morning, open the oven and give everyone a cookie. Ask the kids to notice the cracked surface. Have them bite into the cookies. The cookies are hollow!
Explain that on the first Easter morning, Jesus’ followers were amazed to find the tomb open and empty. Read Matthew 28:1-9.
HE HAS RISEN!
Source: AllHomemadeCookies.com
What a great idea. I wish I had done that with you but I am so proud that you are going it with your children.What a nice way for them to understand the story of Christs death and ressurection. ..Mom
This is so great. I hope to do it today with my daughter, too. I’ve been looking for a way to make the story “real” and this looks like it would be received really well.
Thanks!
I hope you and your daughter enjoy this time as well, Iris. It’s so hard for them to understand, I’m hoping this will become a tradition with us.
Enjoy! (and get this…naturally gluten-free to boot!). 
Jeanine..wonderful way for the little ones to understand the real Easter story.
Thank you for this. My son isn’t nearly old enough to participate much less understand yet, but I’m bookmarking it and will definitely be doing this with him as soon as he is old enough!
I’m so disgusted that Easter has become ‘the new Christmas’ (as heard in WALMART the other day). SICKENING.
The New Christmas?? That is sad. Everything has gotten so commercialized, it takes away from the real meaning behind it.
We made these last year and my boys enjoyed getting to open the oven the next morning to see what happened overnight. They liked how the cookies were hollow..just as the tomb was empty. Lots of fun.
Thanks so much for sharing this! I used it years ago w/ my 12 y/o daughter, but I haven’t been able to find my notes on the recipe for years now. I will have to add this to my Easter celebration for next year with my 2 y/o daughter, too!
This is really cool!! You’re blog looks great, I also love to bake gluten-free!
Katie
glutenfreekatie.blogspot.com
Thanks for the comment Katie! I just added your link, hope you don’t mind.
I'm looking for a chocolate chip cookie recipe to take to church this Sunday, and I found this instead. I'm sharing this link with all the ladies I know! Such a beautiful, memorable way to teach the true Easter story-and make cookies! And in the Lord's perfect timing, I found this BEFORE Easter this year, so we can all take part in making these and training up our children! Thank you Jeanine!
@That Girl, NICE! So glad that you were able to find them BEFORE Easter. With my luck, I usually find fitting recipes a day too later.
Enjoy the time (and story) with your kids!
Growing up my mom would always do this with us four kids! What a fun way to remember the story of Jesus' suffering and have a special treat. While I didn't know it at the time that it was gluten free, now I know that I can still do it in the future when I have my own kids. Thanks for the reminder
@Sara Workman Nice when something from your childhood is naturally GF that you can share it with your kids & grandkids.