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Whole Wheat Resurrection Rolls

Tell the Easter story in a creative and memorable way with Resurrection Rolls! We use our whole wheat bread dough to make it a bit healthier, but you can also use crescent roll dough.
Servings: 16
Author: Joy Kincaid

Ingredients

  • 2 cans crescent rolls or other dough recipe we use our whole wheat bread recipe
  • 16 large marshmallows or more, if you want to make a larger batch of rolls
  • 1/2 cup melted butter
  • 1/4 cup sugar we used sucanat
  • 2 Tbsp. cinnamon

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  • For whole wheat rolls, follow the bread recipe (or use your own) to make the dough.
  • While the dough is kneading, melt the butter and set aside.
  • Mix the cinnamon and sugar together in another bowl and set this bowl aside.
  • After dough has finished kneading, pull off a small portion and stretch it out, forming it into a circle in the palm of your hand (if you're using crescent rolls, just remove from package and unroll them). Explain to the children that the dough represents the cloth that they wrapped Jesus in.
  • Give each child a marshmallow. Tell them the whiteness represents the purity of Jesus, who was without sin.
  • Dip the marshmallows in the melted butter. This represents the oil he was embalmed with after he died on the cross.
  • Roll the buttered marshmallow in the cinnamon/sugar mixture, which represents the spices his body was anointed with.
  • Wrap the marshmallow in the dough you prepared earlier. You may need to reshape it and thin it out some more to make it fit around the marshmallow. Be sure to seal all of the seams tightly, pinching the dough together. Tell the children this represents how they wrapped Jesus' body for burial. Place each roll on a greased baking pan (I use a 9"x 13" glass dish). If you used the crescent rolls, place each roll in the greased well of a muffin tin.
  • Repeat the above steps until you've used up your dough or made as many rolls as you want.
  • We brushed the tops of ours with melted butter and sprinkled the tops of our rolls with the remaining cinnamon sugar mixture.
  • I allow my rolls to rise for about 20 minutes before baking. (Not for crescent rolls, just for the whole wheat dough.)
  • Bake the rolls at 350 degrees for about 20-25 minutes. (For crescent rolls, follow the baking instructions on the package.) The oven symbolizes the sealed tomb.
  • While the rolls are baking, read John 19-20 together.
  • When the rolls are done, remove the pans to a wire rack to cool. When they're cool enough to handle, cut one open or break it apart. The marshmallow should be melted, and in its place should be a hollow spot in the roll. The tomb is empty! Jesus has risen!