Ambrosia Macaroons

Tis the season that I do a lot of baking. I’ve been baking cookies now for a couple of weeks, cookies for gifts, cookies for parties, cookies for my husband to bring to his colleagues and cookies just to munch on. I always bake my classic Christmas cookies and more recently, I’ve added Maggie’s fantastic molasses cookies to the repertoire. This year I found a recipe for ambrosia macaroons in Bon Appetit that has quickly become a new holiday favorite. That’s because the chewy, flaky, orange-scented chocolate-covered macaroons are delicious for one, and they’re also super easy to make. But the best thing is that the recipe yields a large quantity – and that certainly is a gift to be thankful for this time of year.

Ambrosia Macaroons

Ingredients

• ½ cup (1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature)
• ¾ cup sugar
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons grated orange peel
• 24 ounces sweetened flaked coconut (about 6 packed cups)
• 6 oz. bittersweet chocolate, melted

Preheat oven to 325°F. Line rimmed baking sheets with parchment. Using an electric mixer, beat butter in a large bowl until smooth. Add sugar and salt; beat until blended. Beat in orange peel, then eggs, 1 at a time. Mix in coconut. Drop batter onto sheets by tablespoonfuls, spacing 1½ inches apart. Bake macaroons, 1 sheet at a time until golden on the bottom and browned in spots, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool completely. Using a fork, drizzle chocolate over macaroons. Cool until chocolate is firm.