Holiday cookie recipe: Ambrosia macaroons

Tené Harris of Los Angeles was one of the 10 winners of last year’s Los Angeles Times Holiday Cookie Bake-Off with ambrosia macaroons:

“My dad was raised in a rural area of Texas called Garland [in Bowie County]. It was truly the country. Years ago in the 1970s, when we visited my grandfather’s farm on summer vacations, there was a dirt road, no street lights and a water well. There was plenty of land with fresh vegetables and fruits. My dad would always tell me and my brothers about his memories of Christmas with my grandfather and his siblings, and how excited they would be when they received a bag of fruit, nuts and peppermint for Christmas. He told that story almost every Christmas, and I never grew tired of hearing it. This ambrosia macaroon recipe reminds me of my dad and great Southern traditions.”

Ambrosia macaroons are one of the favorite holiday cookie recipes we’ve collected in our updated “Los Angeles Times Holiday Cookies” e-book. The cookbook now includes 65 recipes from a wide range of sources including world-famous pastry chefs, favorite bakeries and home cooks. And check out the favorite holiday recipes we’ve collected in our “Los Angeles Times Holiday Handbook.” The book shares more than 110 seasonal recipes to help you celebrate Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas and New Year’s.

Each book is $4.99. They are available at the Los Angeles Times bookstore for Kindle, Nook and iBooks.

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You can find Noelle Carter on Facebook, Google+, Twitter and Pinterest. Email Noelle at noelle.carter@latimes.com.

Ambrosia macaroons

Total time: 1 hour, 45 minutes, plus cooling and chilling times

Servings: Makes about 4½ dozen macaroons.

Note: Adapted from a recipe by Tené Harris.

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature

3/4 cup sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons finely grated orange peel

3 eggs

24 ounces sweetened, flaked coconut (about 6 cups firmly packed)

6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted

1. Heat the oven to 325 degrees and position a rack in the center of the oven. Line 3 large, rimmed baking sheets with parchment.

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer using a paddle attachment, or in a large bowl using a hand mixer, beat the butter until smooth. Add the sugar and salt and beat until well-blended. Beat in the grated orange peel, then the eggs, one at a time. Gently fold in the coconut.

3. Drop the batter by the tablespoonful onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing each macaroon 1½ inches apart. Bake until golden on the bottom and browned in spots, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool completely on the sheets.

4. Using a fork, drizzle the melted chocolate over the cooled macaroons. Chill, still on the sheets, until the chocolate is firm, about 30 minutes.

Each of 4½ dozen cookies: 111 calories; 1 gram protein; 10 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram fiber; 8 grams fat; 6 grams saturated fat; 15 mg cholesterol; 8 grams sugar; 43 mg sodium.