Easter Cut-out cookies {gluten-free, egg-free, low-carb}

Easter Cut-out cookies {gluten-free, egg-free, low-carb}

by | Mar 31, 2022 | Snack and Dessert Recipes

We are so excited to share this cut-out cookie recipe with you!  Our ten-year-old daughter created this recipe a few weeks ago and asked if we could add it to the blog.  I initially told her, “Well, that will be great to save for Christmas-time.”  Once I tried the cookies, I changed my mind.  This cookie recipe is too good to wait until Christmas… so let’s make some Easter cookies!

We’ve tried a number of gluten-free low-carb cut-out cookie recipes over the years, and this one is a winner… only a few ingredients, faster than regular sugar cookies (no need to refrigerate the dough), egg-free (so less worry about a mess with kids), and very YUMMY!

This recipe makes about a dozen medium-sized cookies.  We entered our recipe into the Very Well Fit Nutrition Calculator, and found that each cookie will have about 11 g net carbs if using 1/2 cup coconut sugar or 7 g net carbs if using 1/4 cup coconut sugar (this calculation does not include the frosting or sprinkles, which would add a minimal amount of carbs).  So, get ready to enjoy… guilt-free! 

 

We found these adorable Easter cookie cutters from Ann Clark – they are made in the USA.  They worked really well for our Easter cookies!

Easter Cookie Cutters Ann Clark USA
Nativo natural sprinkles

We also decided it was time to be true to our name and add some sprinkles to this recipe.  We tried Nativo rainbow sprinkles – they are perfect pastel colors for Easter.  They are low-carb and colored with natural colors.  Our children thought they were good enough to eat by the spoonful while we were decorating cookies!  One little note, though, we would not recommend baking them into the cookies (they “melt” right into the dough).  They are best used sprinkled over frosting.

Let’s Make Easter Cookies!

Easter cookie ingredients

Gather your ingredients:

For the cookies…

  • 1 cup light buckwheat flour
  • 1 cup almond flour
  • 1/2 cup coconut sugar
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
  • 1/4 to 1/3 cup unsweetened almond milk (plain or vanilla)

For the decorations…

  • 1 – 8 oz. package cream cheese, softened
  • 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
  • Sweetener of your choice (maple syrup, stevia powder, or honey)
  • Natural sprinkles

 

Gather your kitchen supplies:

For the cookies…

  • 1 cup measuring cup
  • 1/2 cup (or 1/4 cup) measuring cup
  • 1 tsp spoon
  • a small liquid measuring cup
  • a microwave-safe mug or dish for melting butter
  • a large spoon for stirring
  • a large bowl for mixing
  • a flat tray or baking sheet lined with parchment paper
  • a cooling rack and metal spatula
  • a serving platter

For the frosting…  

  • a stand mixer with a bowl and paddle attachment or a bowl and spoon to stir by hand
  • a knife or spatula to spread the frosting

Easter cookie kitchen supplies

Measure, mix, cut out, and bake!

Allow your oven to preheat to 350 degrees F while you are making the dough.

1 cup almond flour

Step 1

Measure 1 cup of almond flour.

almond flour

Step 2

Pour the almond flour into the mixing bowl.

light buckwheat

Step 3

Measure 1 cup light buckwheat flour.

light buckwheat

Step 4

Add the light buckwheat to the mixing bowl.

coconut sugar

Step 5

Measure coconut sugar.  Use 1/2 cup for sweeter cookies, or as little as 1/4 cup for lower-carb cookies.

coconut sugar

Step 6

Add the coconut sugar to the mixing bowl.

flaxseed meal

Step 7

Measure 1 tsp baking powder.

flaxseed meal

Step 8

Add the baking powder to the mixing bowl.

flaxseed meal

Step 9

Stir together the dry ingredients until well mixed.

flaxseed meal

Step 10

Place one stick of butter into a microwave safe dish or mug.

flaxseed meal

Step 11

Microwave the butter on high for about 30 seconds, or until melted.

flaxseed meal

Step 12

Pour the melted butter into the mixing bowl and stir.

flaxseed meal

Step 13

Add 1 tsp vanilla extract (optional) – we find the cookies are great with or without vanilla.

flaxseed meal

Step 14

Measure the almond milk.  Start with 1/4 cup, add more if needed.

flaxseed meal

Step 15

Pour the almond milk into the mixing bowl and stir.

flaxseed meal

Step 16

Use your hands to continue to mix the dough until it forms a ball.  If needed, add more almond milk, or more light buckwheat to make it easy to handle.  

flaxseed meal

Step 17

Place the ball of dough on a sheet of parchment paper on the counter.

Easter cut-out cookies

Step 18 (Option A)

Use your hands to press dough out until it is about 1/4″ thick.

flaxseed meal

Step 18 (Option B)

Or place parchment paper on top of the dough and use a rolling pin to roll out dough, until it is about 1/4″ thick.

Easter cut-out cookies

Step 19

Place cookie cutters into the dough.  Pull extra dough away from cookie cutters while the cookie cutters are still in place.

flaxseed meal

Step 20

Carefully lift the cut out cookies onto the parchment lined baking tray.

Easter cut-out cookies

Step 21

Place tray of cookies in the oven (pre-heated to 350 degrees F).  Bake for 10 minutes, then check on cookies.

flaxseed meal

Step 22

After 10 minutes, check on cookies.  Add a minute or two at a time, until the cookies are golden brown on the edges and firm to the touch.  They may need up to 14 minutes total baking time.

Easter cut-out cookies

Step 23

After a few minutes, use a spatula to carefully transfer the cookies to a cooling rack.  Repeat steps 17 to 23 for any remaining dough.  Allow cookies to cool completely before decorating them.

Time to decorate!

flaxseed meal

Step 1

To make the frosting, place softened stick of butter and package of cream cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer (or in another bowl if mixing by hand).  Cream together the butter and cream cheese.

Easter cut-out cookies

Step 2

Add sweetener of your choice.  If using a liquid sweetener (like maple syrup or honey), be careful not to use too much, or the frosting may be runny.  We used 1 T maple syrup and 1 packet Sweet Leaf powder for our frosting.

flaxseed meal

Step 3

(Optional) Add flavoring to your frosting.   We used 1 tsp vanilla extract.

Easter cut-out cookies

Step 4

Cream all ingredients together until smooth.

flaxseed meal

Step 5

Spread frosting on the cookies (make sure the cookies are cooled before frosting them).

Easter cut-out cookies

Step 6

Sprinkle

with

SPRINKLES!

flaxseed meal

Step 7

Be creative with your own ways to decorate the cookies.  We cut off a corner of a ziplock bag to pipe a wooly look on our lamb cookies (you could also use a cookie decorating piping kit).

bunny cookie

Step 8

Enjoy!

(Be sure to refrigerate any leftover decorated cookies.  The cream cheese frosting should probably not be left out more than a couple hours.)

Happy Easter!

Note:  Some links on this page are Amazon Affiliate links.  Sparkles and Sprinkles is a participant in the Amazon Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

Other links may or may not be affiliate links.  We provide links because we have found these products or services beneficial, and we think you might too.

Stations of the Cross blocks

Stations of the Cross blocks

by | Mar 22, 2022 | Craft Tutorials

Stations of the Cross for Children

The pandemic has little silver linings sometimes (I hope someday someone will be reading this, and the pandemic will be a distant memory!).   As the church of some dear friends of ours is not having soup suppers this Lent, they decided to invite small groups of friends over on Fridays during Lent to share soup together and to pray the Stations of the Cross at their home.

Our friends had printed out stations of the cross coloring pages for the children to color as the adults took turns saying the prayers for the Stations of the Cross. After the prayer time, we enjoyed soup together, and then the children played while the adults had time to stay around the table and visit.

This beautiful evening made me think that perhaps it might be nice to have some Stations of the Cross that children could place around the house and play and pray with whenever they wanted to.

Stations of the Cross are, of course, not so happy for anyone to look at, and might be especially hard for children to look at.  However, a few years ago, I came across a wonderful little Stations of the Cross coloring booklet at Real Life at Home.  I love this book because the illustrations are as sweet as they can be for such a solemn subject.  We decided to use the images from these booklets for our Stations of the Cross blocks.  However, you could use any images of your choice.  You could find images online, draw your own images, or even take photos of the Stations of the Cross at your church and print them out for these blocks.
Stations of the Cross toddler blocks

Make your own Stations of the Cross for children

Please note that the coloring images we used for these blocks are not our own.  You can find them at Real Life at Home (where there is even a prayer reflection booklet to go along with them).  You could also get images from another source or draw your own, if you are feeling especially creative!

coloring stations of the cross

Step 1: Print and color your images

We used colored pencils to color our images. 

stations of the cross for kids

Step 2: Cut out your images

Stations of the Cross blocks

Step 3: Cut your blocks

We cut a long 2×4 board into 14 square blocks.  However, if you don’t have time for woodworking, there are many Etsy sellers who have blocks of various sizes that are sanded and ready to use for crafts.  If you wanted to make the blocks smaller or bigger, you could print out the page with a “custom scale,” or use different images of your choice.  The Real Life at Home mini booklet images work perfectly with our squares cut from 2x4s (the wooden squares end up being 3.5″x3.5″).

stations of the cross blocks

Step 4: Sand your blocks

We sanded the cut edges, plus sanded at an angle at the corners to make the blocks easier to handle for little hands.  Though cutting the blocks is probably a task for an adult (here at Sparkles and Sprinkles, we say, “Thank you Super-Dad!”), sanding can be a fun activity for children.

Stations of the Cross for kids

Step 5: Use Mod Podge to attach and coat images

Use a foam brush to spread a layer of Mod Podge on one face of the block, then lay the image on this face.  Brush Mod Podge over the image to seal the image, so that the blocks and images will hold up to children handling them.  Be sure to follow the package instructions for drying times.  You may want to use 2 coats.

Stations of the Cross toddler blocks

Ready to Play and Pray

We hope you and your little ones enjoy making and playing and praying with Stations of the Cross blocks too!

Are you looking for a soup recipe for your next soup supper, whether at home or at church?  You might enjoy trying our recipe for French Vegetable Soup.  

Note:  Some links on this page are Amazon Affiliate links.  Sparkles and Sprinkles is a participant in the Amazon Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

Other links may or may not be affiliate links.  We provide links because we have found these products or services beneficial, and we think you might too.

French Vegetable Soup

French Vegetable Soup

by | Mar 18, 2022 | Lunch and Dinner Recipes, Main Dish Recipes

Years ago I had the blessing of being an au pair in Paris for a family who welcomed me into their family as if I were one of their children too.  One of the many beautiful memories I have with my French family is a visit to a farm near the family’s country home to buy some vegetables.  I remember how the mom of the family did not simply quickly pick out the vegetables, but instead she took the time to hold them up and admire their beauty.  When we brought the vegetables home, she made a delicious soup.  As she made the soup, she smiled joyfully.  She seemed to make the soup effortlessly, without even needing a recipe.

french tomato market
I wish I could make a delicious soup without a recipe, but I tend to need to some guidance.  My go to book for delicious French recipes is The Best Ever French Cooking Course.  This cookbook is definitely worthy of its title!  However, the recipes in this book have many details.  I used to love to spend time following detailed recipes with many steps, but there are many more important things to do these days!  Perhaps your days are busy too?

We decided to take the recipe for Soupe Provençal from The Best Ever French Cooking Course and simplify it.  We left out a few ingredients and chose pre-washed or canned ingredients when possible.  We hope this will make it possible for older children to make it independently and younger children to make it alongside a parent (or even just save you time if you are making it by yourself!).  

In addition to simplifying the recipe, we did a little research on the best knife for children to use to cut vegetables.  From our research, we decided to pick the Victorinox Swiss Classic.  We like that it is sharp (so it does not take a lot of strength to make the cuts) and that it has serrated edges, so that it is less likely to slip.  It also has a nicely rounded tip.  Our 7-year-old was very happy with it.  She used it to cut carrots, celery, and green beans.  Even our 3-year-old used it to cut zucchini (with Mommy’s hands helping to make sure our little one’s hands did not get too close to the blade).

victorinox knife carrot cut

We decided to make a printable for this recipe, rather than list the steps online. Please let us know in the comments below what you think of this format. Is a printable recipe helpful? Do you prefer the online version? Would you like to have both versions?  Also, be sure to scroll down to get our super fun Alphabet Soup spelling activity!

Let’s Make Soup!

vegetable soup

Gather your ingredients

  • 2 stalks celery
  • 2 zucchinis (summer squash)
  • 1 onion
  • 2 handfuls green beans
  • 2 handfuls spinach
  • 2 cups baby carrots
  • 1 small bowl frozen peas
  • 1 can white beans
  • 1 can diced tomato
  • 4 cups water (or a package of vegetable or bone broth)
  • 1 spoonful olive oil
  • 1 spoonful of diced garlic (or 2 garlic cloves, crushed or diced)
  • Salt to taste

Optional:

  • A pinch of Herbes de Provence
  • Pesto (for topping)
  • Shredded parmesan (for topping)
  • Fresh basil leaves (to garnish)
soup supplies

Gather your kitchen supplies

• Cutting board
• Vegetable knife
• Soup pot and cover
• Liquid measuring cup
• Large spoon
• Can opener
• Strainer (optional if you want to strain your beans)

soup recipe

Click here to download the recipe

Have fun making this French Vegetable Soup! Keep in mind that you don’t have to worry about exact quantities of ingredients. You can leave out some ingredients, or substitute other vegetables of your choosing, and it will still be a delicious soup!

 Bon Appétit!

french vegetable soup bowl
Let’s play an Alphabet Soup game!

Looking for something to do while the soup simmers?  Try our Alphabet Soup spelling game. 

Simply pour letter tiles (from Scrabble or Bananagrams) into a bowl.  Use a spoon to scoop out a few letters.  Place them on the matching letter spaces to spell the vegetable names.  (Note:  Depending on the quantity of letter tiles you have, you may not be able to cover all of the words at the same time.) 

This spelling game comes in French and English.  There is also a lowercase version in English if your child is working on upper and lowercase matching.

Get the free printables here:

Uppercase English

Lowercase English

Uppercase French 

P.S.  This game is not recommended for toddlers and babies who might be inclined to put the letter tiles in their mouth.  

letter tile alphabet soup activity
french spelling game
Note: Some links on this page are Amazon Affiliate links. Sparkles and Sprinkles is a participant in the Amazon Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

Other links may or may not be affiliate links. We provide links because we have found these products or services beneficial, and we think you might too.

Saint Patrick’s Day Holy Trinity Craft

Saint Patrick’s Day Holy Trinity Craft

by | Mar 9, 2022 | Craft Tutorials

Children of all ages can enjoy making this shamrock Holy Trinity craft, reminding us of how Saint Patrick explained the Holy Trinity to the Irish people.

1.  Gather your supplies:  free printable Holy Trinity pages, white cardstock or printer paper (3 sheets:  2 for printing, and 1 as a background), markers or colored pencils, scissors, glue

2.  Color the printable pages.  (There is an option for printing the shamrock hearts and stem in green, but we found our children enjoyed coloring the hearts and stem too.)

3.  Cut out the heart leaves, stem, images of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and titles.

4.  Glue the shamrock heart leaves and stem onto your paper (or cardstock), then glue on the Holy Trinity images and titles.

Are you looking for more Saint Patrick’s Day ideas? 

Check out our Saint Patrick’s Prayer garland by clicking here.

Click on the image below to get our free shamrock Holy Trinity printable:

Holy Trinity Shamrock craft

Happy Saint Patrick’s Day!

Growing in Lent

Growing in Lent

by | Mar 8, 2022 | Craft Tutorials

We are starting a new Lenten tradition this year… growing our own Easter grass! 

“Behold, I make all things new.”

I had the chance to talk with some dear friends the other day about Lenten traditions.  I shared that one of our favorite things to do is the Lenten Path from Catholic Icing.  It is a beautiful way to visualize the days of Lent and also to think of special sacrifices and prayers for each day.

We are planning to do the Lenten Path this year again, but we are also excited to add a new tradition… growing our own Easter grass in an Easter basket.  My friend who shared this fun idea said that she and her family plant the seeds on Ash Wednesday, and by Easter time the grass should be nicely growing.  I’m not a very prompt person, so luckily, from what I have read, even if you start the seeds at least a couple weeks before Easter, you should still have some beautiful Easter grass by Easter.

Easter grass

Not only is planting grass seeds in an Easter basket a super fun activity, it can also be a beautiful symbol of how the purpose of Lent is really to help us to grow in God’s love.  

I make all things new
Easter basket scripture tag
faith the size of a mustard seed quote

We created this free printable for you with tags you can attatch to your grass growing baskets.  Each tag has a beautiful scripture passage about growing and seeds.  There is also a blank tag if you want to add your own phrase (like “Grow in God’s love!”) or perhaps the name of your child.

scripture basket tags

We took advantage of some unseasonably warm weather over the weekend and planted our seeds in Easter baskets outside.

We lined our baskets with waxed paper* (as suggested on a blog we read, but you can also use a plant saucer that fits your basket).  Then we filled the baskets with about an inch of soil, sprinkled the seeds, covered the seeds with a bit more soil, and watered the seeds.

*Update:  We wondered if waxed paper would really hold up.  For us, it held up for about 2 weeks, then it started to leak when we watered the grass.  We would not recommend using waxed paper, unless you are going to have the grass in the basket for fewer than 2 weeks.  When we noticed the leaking, we ended up transferring the grass and soil to plastic take-out containers that happened to fit nicely into our baskets (we painted the containers with acrylic paint, so they would match the baskets).

easter basket grass
grass seeds in basket
easter basket grass
seeds covered with soil
watering seeds

Watering the seeds can be a great opportunity to talk about how God showers us with His graces to help us to grow in His love.

Growing Easter grass in a basket

After only a week of growing the grass inside a sunny room in our home, our grass is about 5 inches high. (It can be trimmed if it gets too long before Easter.)

easter basket with natural grass

Update: The waxed paper liner only held up for about 2 weeks. We transferred our grass and soil to a plastic take-out container (painted with acrylic paint to match) to avoid leaking.

We are not experts on the details of how to plant and care for this Easter grass, so we followed the suggestions from these two blogs:

Do you want to explore more about seeds and growing?  We’ve enjoyed these two books…

We are currently studying the early AD times, and enjoying this book:  Who is Jesus?  His Life, His Land, His Time.  We recently read a passage about the mustard seed… and that the mustard plant can grow to about 10 feet tall!  We are thinking we might plant a mustard seed this summer… what a great way to bring Scripture to life!

If you are looking for a simple book about seeds, we love this beautifully illustrated book about seeds:  Plant Secrets by Emily Goodman.

Have you grown Easter grass before?  Or are you going to give it try this year?  We would love it if you want to share your ideas!  Please submit a comment in the form below.

May God bless you and your family on your Lenten journey!

Note:  Some links on this page are Amazon Affiliate links.  Sparkles and Sprinkles is a participant in the Amazon Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

Other links may or may not be affiliate links.  We provide links because we have found these products or services beneficial, and we think you might too.