Easter Rolls

Skill Level: Beginner
Skills Attained: Sharing the Easter Story
Supplies/Ingredients:

• 1 can of Pillsbury Crescent Rolls (makes 8 rolls)
• 8 Large Marshmallows (1 per roll)
• Melted Butter
• Cinnamon Sugar Mixture
• Cooking Spray
• Muffin Tin

Easter is just around the corner, so here is a simple, tasty recipe that allows you to share the Easter story with the young...or the old. Easter may conjure up a variety of memories and images for you. Perhaps you remember those grand Easter egg hunts on the lawn or those itchy and uncomfortable outfits mom made you put on for church. If you grew up in my family, you would remember those Easter "egg" hunts inside the house where my brothers and I would search for chocolate candies, jelly beans, and the prized Cadbury eggs. Our hunts were probably inside -- and not outside -- because I grew up in Michigan. And more times than not, there was probably snow on the ground. Easter paid dividends for weeks to come, because we never found all the candy on Easter Sunday. So, we would find candy along the heat registers and on the window sills for weeks later.

It's so easy to get swept up with those Easter traditions and to completely by-pass the reason why we celebrate Easter to begin with...the death and glorious resurrection of Jesus. So, I would like to share with you a simple recipe that gives you the opportunity to share the story of Jesus with your children...or anyone else in your life.

Before starting the recipe, you can take a moment to share why God sent his son, Jesus, to earth: 

God loves us and wants us to be with him in heaven. But, we are all sinful and that separates us from God. So, God sent his only son, Jesus, in order to make a way to bring us to Him. Someone had to pay a penalty for our sins, and Jesus paid the price for our sins by dying on the cross. The Good News that we celebrate this Easter is that Jesus rose from the dead and is alive, and we can be with God if we simply believe in Jesus. (Romans 10:9)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and spray your muffin tin with cooking spray. Then, take a marshmallow:

This represents Christ's body. Jesus, who was fully God and fully man, came to earth so that he could bring us to God (1 Peter 3:18). He lived a perfect life and was "white as snow" (or white as a marshmallow:). (Isaiah 1:18)

Jesus died for us. For me. For you. He was the ultimate sacrifice. He made a way for us to be with God. 

Next, dip the marshmallow in the melted butter and then the cinnamon sugar. Then, wrap the marshmallow in one of the crescent rolls. Place the individual marshmallows wrapped in a roll in each muffin section. Using the crescent roll to represent Jesus' clothing and the oven to represent the tomb, continue telling the story: 

 

After Jesus died on the cross, he was wrapped in "clean linen cloth" and put into a "tomb".  

Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes or until browned. Continue explaining the story by breaking open one of the rolls, which represents the tomb being opened and found empty on the third day:

On the third day, the tomb was opened, and Jesus was gone! Jesus is alive! Because of Jesus' perfect life, his sacrificial death on the cross, and his ascension into heaven, we can now have a relationship with God. You only have to believe in Jesus.

Here is a video explanation: