I made one my favorite holiday or potluck desserts Thursday. I have not made nor eaten it in ages! This is an old fashioned dessert many people, especially younger ones, may not have eaten before. It is a very simple dessert to make. It could even be considered slightly healthy, in theory.
Ambrosia Salad
Basically fruit cocktail with juice drained out, Cool Whip, maraschino cherries, mini marshmallows, chopped pecans, and mandarin oranges all mixed together. You can get fancy and use the tropical fruit cocktail mix if you want. Some folks add cream cheese or sour cream to the Cool Whip. I mixed in some Greek yogurt with the Cool Whip this year, approximately 1/3 Greek yogurt and 2/3 Cool Whip. You want just enough to coat the fruit. I add extra mandarin oranges and maraschino cherries since the regular fruit cocktail doesn’t have many of those.
If you want super healthy you can use all fresh fruit, whatever fruit you like. Personally I go for the plain old fashioned fruit cocktail in heavy juice from a can. You can also add shredded coconut. You can add different nuts or leave them out. This is an extremely versatile recipe!
Growing up Ambrosia Salad was a staple found on the dessert table at church potlucks. I don’t see it very often at church functions nowadays. I remember eating it at Mamaw’s house during the holidays. It hasn’t been served in years at my family’s holiday dinners. I find this sad so I decided to make it for Thanksgiving dinner this year.
The kids seemed to like it along with the older adults. I have plenty of leftovers since I made too much. Perfect for late night noshing!
What is your favorite holiday or special dessert? I have a few favorite desserts including pecan pie and Christmas sugar cookies.
