Almost Unschoolers: Sunday School Easter Snacks

I've been so busy sharing our Easter crafts this week, I thought maybe it was time to mention a few of the snacks we've enjoyed along with them.

30 Pieces of Silver - Cookies

Matthew 26:14-16

Then one of the Twelve—the one called Judas Iscariot—went to the chief priests and asked, “What are you willing to give me if I deliver him over to you?” So they counted out for him thirty pieces of silver. From then on Judas watched for an opportunity to hand him over.

Tint 1/2 a batch of sugar cookie dough (1 egg, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, 1/2 cup sugar, and 1/2 a stick of softened butter creamed together, and mixed with 1 cup of flour) gray with a few drops of food coloring. Or, in a pinch, you can use 3 drops of green, and 2 drops of red, like we did for these, but it's tricky - too much red will turn the dough brown, instead of gray.

Roll out the dough, and cut 30 "coins" with the center of a donut cutter, or the (clean and dry) cap of a soda bottle.

Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 13 minutes.

Read: Matthew 27:1-10

Early in the morning, all the chief priests and the elders of the people made their plans how to have Jesus executed. So they bound him, led him away and handed him over to Pilate the governor. When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders.

“I have sinned,” he said, “for I have betrayed innocent blood.”

“What is that to us?” they replied. “That’s your responsibility.”

So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself. The chief priests picked up the coins and said, “It is against the law to put this into the treasury, since it is blood money.”

So they decided to use the money to buy the potter’s field as a burial place for foreigners. That is why it has been called the Field of Blood to this day. Then what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: “They took the thirty pieces of silver, the price set on him by the people of Israel, and they used them to buy the potter’s field, as the Lord commanded me.”

Dipped Pretzel Crosses

I found this idea from As the Deer through Google images. There isn't much in the way of instructions on the site, but the concept is simple enough, they didn't prove to hard to bumble our way through.

We prepared two pretzel rods for each cross, breaking one, to make a shorter cross beam.

Then, we melted vanilla flavored almond bark in the microwave, according to the directions on the package. Half the package, or six squares, ended up being enough to make fourteen crosses.

We poured the melted almond bark into a mug, to make it a little easier to dip the pretzels into. Then, we dipped them, long ones first...

...with the short pretzels going across on top...

...followed by a tap or two worth of candy sprinkles, before the candy coating had a chance to harden back up.

Pretzel Nets Full of Fish
(from Catholic Icing to go with John 21:1-14)

Since I was in the pretzel aisle anyway, I decided to grab a bag of Snyder's "Butter Snaps", along with a bag of Hershey Kisses®, and a box of fish shaped crackers, for these yummy little treats, as well.

We had a great time making these, and they were so simple. Just line up the pretzel "nets" on a cookie sheet...

...and top each one with a Hershey Kiss®. Place the pan in a 350 degree Fahrenheit oven, for a minute or two, until the chocolate is shiny, indicating it's melted (don't overbake, or the chocolate will burn and turn hard and crumbly).

Then, press a fish cracker down into each melted chocolate, and place the entire pan into the fridge for a few minutes to cool.

While your waiting, read the passage from John 21:1-14 about Jesus appearing to the disciples, while they were fishing, after the resurrection. Or, enjoy Peter's Easter Story from Arch Books (we're really loving this series, this year).