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You are here: Home / Breakfast / Homemade Resurrection Rolls (Empty Tomb Rolls)

Homemade Resurrection Rolls (Empty Tomb Rolls)

Last updated on March 30, 2019. Originally published March 27, 2017 19 Comments

Recipe Pin Recipe

Celebrate the true meaning of Easter by making these Homemade Resurrection Rolls from scratch! They really look like empty tombs and taste amazing!

Front shot of a homemade resurrection roll cut in half showing the "empty tomb" insides.

Easter is my favorite holiday. I love everything about it. Getting dressed up, going to church, and celebrating the most significant event in human history…the death and resurrection of Jesus!

If you didn’t know, my husband is a pastor. Just over 3 years ago we moved from Chicago to Salt Lake City to plant a church. It has been a challenging yet beautiful adventure for our family. If you follow me on Instagram and watch my stories, then you know that our faith is a huge part of our lives. It informs all of our decisions…including the way we celebrate Easter {i.e. no egg-laying bunnies come to our house, LOL}!

One of the ways we celebrate is by making homemade resurrection rolls (or “empty tomb rolls)”. Sometimes I take the easy route and make this “recipe,” but when we have time I love making them from scratch because I think they look SO much more like actual tombs, and they don’t have any artificial ingredients!

In this post I’m going to walk you through the process of how we make these Homemade Resurrection Rolls with our kids, and the way we use each step as a teaching moment about the true meaning of Easter!

Overhead process shot of the homemade resurrection rolls dough rolled into a circle with the other ingredients and a rolling pin situated around it.

Step 1: making the dough and prepping the ingredients.

This job currently falls mostly to mommy {minus some help kneading and mixing of course} because my kids are so little. But I bet by next year Bethany will be able to help with much more of the process!

Each ingredient in these Homemade Resurrection Rolls represents an important part of the resurrection story. The marshmallow represents Jesus’s body. We discuss how Jesus died {Matthew 27:45-57} and why {John 3:16-17}.

Overhead process shot of the homemade resurrection rolls dough rolled into a circle & cut into 8 triangular pieces with the other ingredients and a rolling pin situated around it.

Step 2: Jesus’s Body Prepared for Burial

Next, we explain that Jesus’ body was prepared for burial according to the Jewish customs of the time.  The butter and cinnamon sugar mixture represent the oils and spices used to do this.  The kids dip their marshmallows in butter and then roll them in cinnamon sugar. This is probably their favorite part {besides eating them} because they get messy! 🙂  {John 19:38-42}.

Side process shot of the homemade resurrection rolls showing a marshmallow being dipped into butter

Explain the significance of Jesus’ death. 

Then we discuss why Jesus needed to die. We explain that we’re all sinners {Romans 3:23} and that the wages of sin is death {Romans 6:23}. In order for our sins to be forgiven a perfect sacrifice had to be made, and that was only possible in the death of Jesus. {2 Corinthians 5:21}.

Side process shot of the homemade resurrection rolls showing a marshmallow that was dipped in butter and coated with cinnamon sugar on a triangular piece of dough ready to be rolled.

Step 3: Sealing the Tomb

Next we explain that the rolls {dough} represent the tomb. The kids put the marshmallow on the dough and then roll it up very tight. NOTE:  You want to make sure there are no cracks or holes in your rolls, otherwise the marshmallow will ooze out. So I let the kids have some fun rolling and then double check to be sure they’re good to go! 😉

We use this opportunity to teach them that the tomb was heavily guarded and secure {Matthew 27:62-66}. The Romans put an enormous rock in front of the entrance to the tomb and assigned armed guards to keep watch outside. We emphasize how it would be impossible for a mere man to get in or out of the tomb.

Overhead view of 8 homemade resurrection rolls closed up on a baking sheet ready to be put in the oven.

Step 4: Bake the empty tomb rolls! 

We put the Homemade Resurrection Rolls in the oven and explain that Jesus was in the tomb for 3 days {Matthew 12:40}. I turn on the lights in the oven and let the kids watch them bake.

While the resurrection rolls are baking we explain that God loved us so much that He sent His one and only son, Jesus, to come to earth and enter into our messy sinful lives. But He didn’t sin, He lived perfectly {John 3:16}.  We tell them that Jesus trades places with us. He was innocent and didn’t deserve any punishment, but He took our punishment of death. We explain that we are guilty and should be the ones who are “in the oven,” but Jesus took our place.

It’s fun to use a real life example with the kids here….If Bethany took a toy from Naomi and was supposed to get a time out, but Gabe said he would go to time out instead of her. Gabe took Bethany’s punishment, even though he did nothing wrong…in the same way that Jesus didn’t do anything wrong but took our punishment!

Overhead view of finished homemade resurrection rolls on a baking pan with white glaze.

Step 6: He is risen! {Eat}

When we remove the empty tomb rolls from the oven we discuss the resurrection! {Matthew 28:1-20}! The kids open the Homemade Resurrection Rolls to see that the marshmallow is GONE….just like Jesus’s body was no longer in the tomb when the women came to see him on Sunday. We discuss the importance of the resurrection in our lives and that salvation comes by grace alone through faith alone {Ephesians 2:8-9}!

Then we explain that this whole story is called The Gospel, or “good news” and ask them to explain to us how Jesus’s death and resurrection is good news for them!

Overhead view of homemade resurrection rolls on a baking pan with one cut in half and open showing the "empty tomb"

Celebrating the meaning of Easter

Making these Homemade Resurrection Rolls is really a fun and delicious way to celebrate the true meaning of Easter with your family! We do this little activity after we’ve already spent two weeks in homeschool learning about Easter. One of my favorite tools to teach the kids are these Resurrection Eggs! For whatever reason they adore them and ask me to tell the Easter story using the eggs multiple times every day!

On Easter we hide larger versions of the items found in the resurrection eggs around the house and have the kids find them. Then we ask them to put the items in order and they take turns explaining the significance of each item to Easter!

Side view of baked homemade resurrection rolls on the pan with white glaze

Homemade Resurrection Rolls: Substitutions 

Now on to the actual recipe! These rolls are a special treat. I recommend making them exactly as written, and the only potential substitution I can suggest {and have tried} is substituting 1/2 of the all-purpose flour with whole wheat pastry flour!

If you’re looking to make these resurrection rolls gluten-free, try using this recipe for gluten-free crescent rolls for the dough!

Front view of homemade resurrection rolls cut in half and open showing the "empty tomb"

If you make something from JoyFoodSunshine I would love to see your creations! Don’t forget to rate this recipe and leave a comment below! Also, follow along with me on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook and Twitter for more recipe inspiration and a glimpse into our everyday life!
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5 from 1 vote

Homemade Resurrection Rolls

Celebrate the true meaning of Easter by making these Homemade Resurrection Rolls from scratch! They really look like empty tombs and taste amazing! NO canned dough used here! 
Course bread, Breakfast, Dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword Easter, empty tomb rolls, homemade resurrection rolls, resurrection rolls recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Rising time 1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 10 minutes
Servings 8 resurrection rolls
Calories 211.9kcal
Author Laura

Ingredients

For the dough:

  • ½ cup warm milk 105 degrees F
  • 1 TBS granulated sugar
  • 2 tsp yeast (active dry)
  • 3 TBS butter melted
  • 3 TBS granulated sugar
  • 1 egg lightly beaten at room temperature
  • ½ tsp pure vanilla extract
  • ½ tsp sea salt
  • ½ tsp ground cinnamon
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour or 1 cup all-purpose flour 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour!

Other Ingredients:

  • 8 large marshmallows
  • 3 TBS granulated sugar
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 2 TBS butter melted

Instructions

  • Add milk, 1 TBS sugar and yeast to the pan of your standing mixer fitted with the dough hook and stir to combine. Let the mixture sit for 5-10 minutes or until frothy/foamy.
  • Add butter, 3 TBS sugar, egg, and vanilla and mix on low speed to combine.
  • Add salt, cinnamon and flour and mix on medium-high speed until a slightly tacky but firm ball forms.
  • Remove dough from the mixer and knead with your hands until smooth.
  • Place dough in a lightly greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap.
  • Let rise in a warm place for about 1 hour or until dough has doubled in size.
  • While dough is rising, combine sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and stir to combine.
  • Once the dough has doubled in size, roll dough out into a 14” round circle about ¼” thick.
  • Cut the dough into 8 equal-sized triangles.
  • Take one marshmallow and dip it into the melted butter until all sides are completely coated.
  • Remove from the butter and place the marshmallow into the cinnamon/sugar mixture. Roll the marshmallow until completely coated in cinnamon sugar.
  • Place the coated marshmallow in the center of one of your triangles of dough.
  • Fold the dough around the marshmallow and roll it in your hands until it is completely sealed. You do not want to leave any cracks at all or the marshmallow will ooze out.
  • Once completely sealed, place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
  • Repeat with the remaining 7 marshmallows.
  • Cover rolls with a tea towel and preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
  • Once oven is preheated, bake the rolls for 15-20 minutes or until the rolls are golden brown.
  • Let cool on a wire rack and then peek inside!

Nutrition

Calories: 211.9kcal | Carbohydrates: 35.9g | Protein: 4.4g | Fat: 5.5g | Cholesterol: 36.1mg | Potassium: 60mg | Fiber: 2.7g | Sugar: 12.1g | Calcium: 35mg | Iron: 1.5mg

How do you celebrate Easter? What are your favorite traditions? 

This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you purchase a product through a link you clicked on here, I receive a portion of the sale. Thank you for supporting JoyFoodSunshine!

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Homemade French Silk Pie from Scratch {Guest Post on Oh, Sweet Basil}!
Vegan Chocolate Pie
Healthy Chocolate Chip Muffins (Gluten-Free)

Filed Under: Bread, Breakfast, Dessert, Family, Homemade Holidays, Recipes Tagged With: bread, easter, family

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Veronika

    April 21, 2019 at 1:06 pm

    It would be most helpful if you’d add a time estimate of how long you knead the dough in your machine for. I had it mixing for 6-10 minutes and it was still a soppy mess so I ended up adding a whole cup more of flour. It was still way too sticky to handle but I just put it in a bowl while i googled how long to knead and when to add more flour. After 10 minutes based on what I read I decided to take it out of the bowl and knead more flour into it, but when I took it out it was perfectly fine and how it seemingly should be. Anyway, it’d be most helpful so I can know what is “normal.” It’s proofing now, I will definitely let you know how it turns out!

    Reply
  2. Jessica

    April 19, 2019 at 8:35 pm

    Can you make the dough the day before? I want to enjoy them hot on Easter morning but I don’t want to do all the prep work in the morning.

    Reply
    • Laura

      April 20, 2019 at 5:12 am

      Yes!! Store it covered in the refrigerator overnight!

      Reply
  3. Claire Maudhub

    March 30, 2019 at 6:38 am

    Hi is this using fresh or dried yeast? I don’t want to overpower it as I’ve only got dried here

    Reply
    • Laura

      March 30, 2019 at 7:07 am

      It calls for active dry yeast! I will make sure to specify in the recipe!

      Reply
  4. Karen Smart

    February 21, 2019 at 9:26 pm

    Are there any adjustments to the recipe for high altitude!? I live in Santa Fe, NM. MoSt baking recipes call for an additional tblsp of flour

    Reply
  5. Dr Martin Huang

    April 12, 2018 at 4:30 am

    I called this the last supper. Your description is so interactive and creative!
    Amazing photos as well!

    Thanks for sharing! 🙂

    Reply
  6. Darla

    March 21, 2018 at 11:55 pm

    Is there any way to make this low carb?

    Reply
    • Laura

      March 22, 2018 at 2:34 pm

      Hey Darla! Unfortunately no, this is a classic roll recipe full of flour! 🙂

      Reply
  7. Sharon

    March 6, 2018 at 7:47 pm

    5 stars
    How does the white cross get on the top of the roll?

    Reply
    • Laura

      March 6, 2018 at 9:05 pm

      Hey Sharon! I just drizzle a simple glaze of powdered sugar and milk on top! For an easy and simple glaze use 1 TBS milk for every 1 cup powdered sugar. I also sometimes toss in about 1/2 tsp vanilla for some flavor!

      Reply
  8. Alison

    April 12, 2017 at 4:47 am

    Love this recipe and the story it tells! Thanks for being so open about your faith!

    Reply
  9. Thea

    March 28, 2017 at 5:13 pm

    I just stumbled across this blog post on Pinterest. What a wonderful way to explain the Easter story to young children! I’m going to do this with my 4 and 2 year old boys.

    Reply
    • Laura

      March 31, 2017 at 7:20 am

      Thank you so much Thea! You boys will think it’s so much fun! We try to be super intentional about teaching them the true meaning of Easter!

      Reply
      • Thea

        March 30, 2018 at 10:22 am

        I didn’t end up making the buns last year. But we made them today! They were easy to make and the boys liked helping out and talking about Jesus’ death and resurrection. Unfortunately our marshmallows didn’t disappear. Any trouble shooting suggestions? I wonder if I didn’t roll out the dough thin enough? Or wrapped them too tight? We didn’t have a leaking problem – worked hard at that. Another blog suggested baking at a higher temperature – 375F for 12 min. I might try that.

        The rolls themself tasted great and I’ll make them again for sure.

        Reply
        • Laura

          April 1, 2018 at 7:24 am

          Hey Thea! OH NO! Kind of defeats the purpose of the rolls if the marshmallows stay in tact! I have no idea why that would’ve happened! Did you use regular large marshmallows and not super jumbo ones? Maybe a thinner dough…but if you made 8 rolls you should’ve been good to go! Did you let them rise?

          Reply
  10. gretchen | kumquat

    March 27, 2017 at 7:18 pm

    awww. i love everything about this post! i need to see if this will work gluten-free… have you tried it?

    Reply
  11. Emily

    March 27, 2017 at 3:42 pm

    I love how you wove the bad news first and the GLORIOUS news of the gospel into your rolls recipe; that is truly an awesome awesome thing. and that is so sweet how Gabe wanted to take Bethany’s punishment; your children humble me in the way God is working in their hearts to follow Jesus. I want to be more like them when I grow up.

    Reply
    • Laura

      March 27, 2017 at 9:49 pm

      Thank you sweet Emily! That little “example” was totally hypothetical and didn’t actually happen in real life! LOL! I WISH my kids were that sweet to each other….sometimes they are…but they have never offered to take each other’s time outs…which actually makes the illustration more powerful! Explaining how they wouldn’t even take a time out for their sibling, but Jesus bore SO much more for us!

      Reply

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Hello I’m Laura! I am a former chemistry teacher turned wife and mom of five beautiful babies! I’m a green smoothie addict, lover of the outdoors, and a peanut butter & nap enthusiast! Click here to read more >>

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