Candied Ginger and Orange peel Coconut Macaroons

I love macaroons. They are so good! Cookie making has been the theme lately, with one daughter making chocolate chip and the other creating sugary shapes. We also made gingerbread muffins that I found at "Confections of a Foodie Bride"  http://www.jasonandshawnda.com/foodiebride/archives/9825 but I used fresh ginger instead of ground. The muffins didn't need much so I had this big chunk of fresh ginger to use up. I was hit with inspiration! I peeled and minced the ginger and also some orange peel, and boiled those in a simple syrup to create lovely candied ginger and orange peel, which I added to the coconut macaroons of The Joy of Cooking. Let me just say that these are way to sweet and yummy!

• 3/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg white
• 3 1/2 cups shredded coconut
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup candied ginger and orange peel (directions to follow)

Preheat your oven to 325. Line cookie sheets with well greased foil or use parchment paper. (Or wax paper. These stick badly!) Mix the first 4 ingredients together then add the coconut and mix it in. Lastly add the candied ginger and orange. Mix well. Drop by tablespoons onto the prepared pans about 1 inch apart. Bake about 20 minutes. Let cool at least 10 minutes before removing from the pan. The easiest way to get them off the paper/foil, is to pick up the cookie and peel the paper back. For me the edges like to stick and tear off a little, which means there more broken ones for the cook to munch on! :)

• fresh ginger root
• an orange
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup water

*You could try lemon peel here too. Put water and sugar into a small pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat so that it is just simmering.
Peel and mince the ginger, and slice pieces of peel from the orange, try not to get too much pith (the white part). Add the ginger and orange peel to the sugar water and simmer for about half an hour, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat when done and strain, saving both the chopped ingredients and the syrup.