During April and spring we celebrate new life. There are many traditions and holidays that go with this time of year and one very important one is Easter. Whatever faith you may be, new life is a beautiful thing. One of the most poignant images of Easter for the Christian faith is the empty tomb. It is a symbol of hope and joy! This season the story of Christ rising from the tomb can be told while you bake bread in your kitchen.

Traditions are most often started in the home. One of the most important tradition keeping rooms in your home is your kitchen. It provides opportunities to gather, to talk, to learn and to be filled with yummy goodness. While you are preparing your Easter meal or a special dinner this month, try baking the Empty Tomb Biscuit. This sweet biscuit will become a tradition your family will want to repeat yearly. Traditions are what make a holiday or season memorable.

It's magical to a young mind seeing something disappear and that is just what happens with the empty tomb biscuit. In this recipe, there is a marshmallow there when you prepare it, but when it comes warm out of the oven, the marshmallow is gone! You can add any symbolism you'd like to this delightfully delicious tradition; here are some that I like to talk about:

Marshmallow : The marshmallow represents Christ's body going into the tomb. The white color of the marshmallow represents purity. (John 3:1-3, Isaiah 1:18)

Bread : Christ gave us the "bread of life." If you partake of it, you will not hunger. The bread before it is baked represents the tomb that was sealed tight. (Matthew 27:57-60)

Oven : The oven represents the warmth of spring and new life beginning.

Cooked Biscuit : The cooked biscuit is the empty open tomb that Christ rose from. The biscuit opens up when baked so you'll have a hole showing the emptiness inside. (Matthew 28:1-9)

If you do not celebrate Easter this is still a wonderful biscuit to make. You could even make it into a little bunny or chick's home and stick a small Peep inside once it is cooled. Or you can make it into a little hole for eggs. The possibilities are endless! Enjoy making these simple and easy biscuits for your family this spring season.

Empty Tomb Biscuits

Ingredients:

1 can biscuits (usually 8 per package)

8 marshmallows

3 Tb butter, melted in shallow baking dish

1 cup cinnamon sugar, in a small bowl

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375.

2. Spread out one biscuit and flatten it a bit so that the marshmallow will fit in the middle.

3. Roll marshmallow in butter and then in cinnamon sugar mixture. Put a marshmallow in the center of each biscuit.

4. Fold over half of the biscuit over the marshmallow.

5. Make sure when you shut the pouch it has some extra room in there. This is so the marshmallow doesn't push it open. Seal it well you don't want any gaps.

6. Brush the tops of the 'tombs' with butter and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.

7. Bake for 10-14 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown. Cool for 1 minute on the pan.

8. When it's done baking, take a look at this open empty tomb!!! How neat is that!

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NOTE: You can also use crescent roll dough. You just connect two triangles to make a squarish piece that you'll put the marshmallow on. This dough will only make 4 rolls total.

Another great Easter and spring season food and tradition is making bunny pancakes. Who doesn't love to get a pancake that isn't just round? The pancake is almost like an artist's palette with endless possibilities of what shapes it can be made in to. Have you ever made your pancakes into a fun shape? It can be tricky sometimes, getting the batter to do what you want. However, putting the batter into a bottle you can squeeze it out of helps you to have more control. I've seen lots of different tools for this, such as: a cleaned out ketchup bottle, plastic bags with a tip snipped, or fancy ones like the "pancake pen." Whatever you use, just have fun!

Decorating your pancake with goodies adds character to that bunny shape you create. The toppings are endless; strawberries, bananas, coconut, raisins, blueberries, chocolate chips, marshmallows…Make that bunny delicious by adding your favorites to make him come alive. Just don't let him hop off your plate till you've taken a bite.

Spring is such a wonderful time of year. I hope that you can enjoy starting some new traditions and keeping old ones in your kitchen during this season. Go enjoy baking away, and share any fun traditions you have in the comments below!