Make a Huge Batch of Ambrosia for Post-Thanksgiving Snacking

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Ambrosia is one of those things I've always loved. The first time I tried it, I was hooked. I love condensed milk, though — you can add it to anything and I will eat it. What I love about ambrosia in particular, and why I tend to make it at Thanksgiving, is that it's ridiculously simple to make and you make a huge batch of it and it lasts for the week. It's my go-to for a late-night post-Thanksgiving snack.

I was introduced to ambrosia at Thanksgiving dinner at my ex-girlfriend's family's house years ago. Her family is Jamaican, and they make a version where everything is from a can, but I prefer to use fresher ingredients. I think it tastes better that way. My version uses lots of condensed milk, sour cream or creme fraiche, a good spicy rum, cinnamon, a little bit of nutmeg, some vanilla, a pinch of salt, and then lots of fresh fruit. You can use whatever you have on hand, but the one fruit I always have to have in there is banana. That combination of banana, rum, and cream is just unlike anything else.

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It's honestly pretty tasty with canned fruit cocktail, too. Just drain the fruit and toss it in. The ingredients are pretty flexible, but the rum you use is key. I like to use a dark rum from Puerto Rico, or any very intense dark Caribbean rum. I also like to serve with a side of good cookies like ginger snaps or ones made with banana and chocolate.

I like to serve the ambrosia in individual cocktail cups with the cookies on the side and a dusting of cinnamon. Everyone thinks the dessert is super complicated but it's one of the easiest things to make. You could get everything you need from a gas station, honestly. It's the best thing when you need to make a bomb-ass dessert really quick. Ambrosia is one of my favorite parts about Thanksgiving.