Sweet Southern Ambrosia

An old Southern tradition in our family is to make ambrosia for Christmas. My maternal grandmother, who was from Virginia, always made this, as did my mom. I must admit that I've not always honored the tradition every Christmas, but this year, I just had to make some.

My grandmother's recipe was simply oranges, sugar and freshly grated coconut. That's it! 
Just segment the oranges and sprinkle on sugar...the amount depends on the sweetness of the oranges...but for a bag of oranges, I put maybe a quarter cup...just to give a sweet, fresh taste...or to your taste.
Sprinkle on the coconut...about 3/4 cup or so. I use the kind in a bag, but fresh or frozen is better. There's no way that I'm buying a whole hairy coconut to grate by hand...lazy me.
My mom always added a few maraschino cherries, which add a little more sweetness and a lot of color...which I like.
Refrigerate for a few hours, and serve in a pretty glass bowl, or in individual stemware.

Now, I know all of y'all will get oranges in the toe of your stockings, so you won't have to go out to buy any for this recipe.
Hope you enjoy this old family favorite. 
                                   
                                  Merry Christmas y'all!
                                             Babs