Baking Up Easter Joy

Easter is one of my favorite times of the year. Not only does it mean spring is on it’s way, but we get to celebrate the resurrection of our Savior! Every year on Easter Sunday, we come home from church and celebrate by making Resurrection Rolls. This is a fun way to share the joy of Easter with my kids while allowing them to get their hands dirty and put a sweet treat in their bellies. I want to share this tradition with you, in hope that it blesses your family as well. 

The meaning of resurrection rolls 

I make resurrection rolls with my kids to remind them that Jesus is alive. We don’t worship a dead Savior, but a Risen Lord! Resurrection rolls allow us to celebrate that on Easter Sunday all those years ago, the tomb was empty! 

Resurrection rolls are a tasty and fun illustration meant to remind us that Jesus’ body, which was placed in the tomb on Friday, was no longer there on Sunday morning! Resurrection rolls are marshmallows, dipped in butter, rolled in cinnamon sugar, and wrapped in a crescent roll. When this treat is baked, the marshmallow melts, leaving an empty crescent roll “tomb” with no body (marshmallow) inside. Your kids will be delighted to see the “body” they wrapped in the tomb, disappear! 

Recipe

Ingredients: 

• 1 8 oz can of refrigerated crescent roll dough

• 8 large marshmallows 

• 6 tablespoons butter, melted

• 3 tablespoons white sugar 

• 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon 

Directions: 

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. 

2. Lightly grease a baking sheet or line it with parchment paper. 

3. Mix the cinnamon and sugar together in a bowl and set aside. 

4. Place the butter in a bowl and melt in the microwave in 15 second increments until the butter is completely melted. Allow the butter to cool slightly. 

5. Dip a marshmallow in the melted butter and roll it in the cinnamon sugar mixture. 

6. Place the covered marshmallow in the center of a triangle of crescent roll dough. 

7. Carefully wrap the dough around the marshmallow. Make sure you thoroughly seal the crescent roll dough around the marshmallow. An unsealed roll will ooze out marshmallow as it melts, leaving a deflated crescent roll rather than a sphere shape. (If they aren’t sealed well, they will still taste delicious, you will just have a mess.) 

8. Place the wrapped marshmallows on the prepared baking sheet and bake  for approximately 9-12 minutes. I set the timer for 9 minutes then continue to check every minute because there is a short window between golden brown and burnt. 

9. Allow to cool before eating, the melted marshmallow sugar is very hot! 

   
   

The Easter story told through resurrection rolls

To make and assemble these treats with my children, I set all the ingredients in front of them on the counter. I have each of the kids grab a marshmallow and explain to them that the marshmallow is like Jesus’ body. I have each of the kids dip their marshmallow in the melted butter and roll it in cinnamon sugar.

As they do this, I explain to them that after Jesus died on the cross, Jesus’ disciples and friends prepared his body for burial by wrapping his body in burial linens and spices. 

I then have each child grab a triangle of dough and as they are wrapping the marshmallow in dough, I tell them that after Jesus’ body was ready for burial, his friends placed his body in a tomb with a large stone rolled over the entrance. The people who killed Jesus wanted to make sure that no one took his body, so the stone was huge! I make sure to tell them the stone was really heavy, so they need to seal the tomb really well. I usually help them by checking to make sure everything is pinched and sealed well so the marshmallow doesn’t ooze all over the baking sheet in the oven.

We repeat this process until all the dough and marshmallows are used and then I place the baking sheet in the oven. I explain to my kids that after they placed Jesus’ body in the tomb, his friends went home. I ask my kids how Jesus’ friends and followers would have felt after Jesus died. I usually turn on the oven light and let my kids “keep watch” to make sure no one steals the body from the tomb. As my children have gotten older, I also read to them Luke 19:40-42, which says, “ So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. So because of the Jewish day of Preparation, since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there.” 

I like to read scripture to my kids while making these rolls because it shows them that I am not making things up. Reading from the Bible, or having one of my kids read the passage for us, helps them to know their Bible firsthand. They don’t have to rely on someone else to tell them what is in the Bible which equips them to start their own personal relationship with the Lord. 

When the timer goes off, I bring the baking sheet out of the oven and set it in front of my kids. I explain to them (while the treats are cooling) that some of Jesus’ friends came to Jesus’ tomb to continue getting his body ready for burial. I open my bible and read Luke 24:1-9 which says, “But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.” And they remembered his words, and returning from the tomb they told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest.” 

By this time, the treats have cooled and my kids are able to take their roll and see that Jesus’ body is no longer in the tomb, He has risen! Jesus has risen indeed! 

Allowing children to use their hands to make these rolls is a fun experience for kids. Giving them the ability to see truths in the Bible, through illustrations like Resurrection rolls, is both delicious and memorable. Jesus has risen! I hope that you are able to use this resource in your home to share the joy of Easter and celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.