Immaculate Conception Cookies/ Jesse Tree

As H is getting older, I am trying to incorporate some new traditions. I have always been interested in those that celebrate feast days with special food or snacks. Today, is my first recorded attempt at this. Thank you to Catholic Cuisine for the ideas.

For Marian feast days, it seems the theme is to do white food, for purity, such as cauliflower soup, white crackers, etc. Or things that incorporate the color which we use to represent Mary...blue. I was looking for a snack, so I adapted the recipe for these Peanut Butter Bees and just decorated them with blue accents. My first attempt was to do a blue veil. That didn't turn out as well as I hoped, so I ended up just dipping half the cookie and decorating the other half with chocolate.

So, here is my modified no-bake Immaculate Conception Cookie Recipe (makes about 10-12)

2TB butter, softened
1/2 C smooth peanut butter
1/2 C powdered sugar
3/4 C graham crackers crumbs
1/4 C honey
1/2 C coconut
blue food coloring
1/4 C melted chocolate chips for decorating

Mix butter, pb, and powdered sugar in a mixing bowl until blended. Add graham crumbs and blend. Roll into eggs and put in the freezer for at least 15 minutes.

Mix coconut in a baggie with blue food coloring. Put honey in a dipping bowl. Dip the pb eggs into the honey, then coat with blue coconut. Melt chips in a bag for 1 minute, cut off the tip and decorate. Enjoy! Store leftovers in the freezer.

Our parish school has Sisters of the Immaculate Heart. Today, they renewed their vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. H loves to see veiled sisters and calls them all Mary. During Mass H commented "look at all the Mary's!"

And...finally, we are doing a Jesse Tree for the first year. I clipped a branch from our evergreen, sectioned it and put it in a vase. Added a few lights and we are now having so much fun with our Jesse tree scipture reading and ornament making every day.