Macaron or Macaroons?
It’s definitely Macaron. The difference is that Macaroons are typically a small dense coconut flavored treat that you can find near the bakery within most local grocery stores. Macarons on the other hand, are a type of French pastry. We make the French pastry. So if you hear somebody asking about macaroons, they want the small white coconut flavored treats.
Well, what exactly is a Macaron then?
The easiest way to explain is that they look like a pastel colored hamburger. I’m sure the French would be rolling over and face-palming at this description, but this is what most American’s would typically think of. The top and bottom of the pastry are the same color and they are light and easily breakable, without being thin or flakey. They are sweet, but not overly sweet. They have a curvature to the outside much that you would imagine of a smooth and un-damaged upper hamburger bun. The difference is that both top and bottom have the same shape. These two halves are produced on a sheet and have a flat bottom and curved top. When these halves set, the flats are covered with a fruity filling and sandwiched together, leaving what resembles Easter pastels clashing with a hamburger. We could have said OREO, that most assuredly that would have earned a double facepalm.
So what does it taste like?
Well, it’s sweet for sure, but it doesn’t have the sharp announcement of pure sugar. A proper macaron is subtle until you taste the cream filling. The filling is fruit based with sweeteners, but there is danger here. The trick is to use the sweeteners and additives that make a creamy and fruity filling without actually overpowering the fruit flavor. In fact, the goal is quite the opposite. The fruit flavor should be distinguishable enough that it rises above any added sweeteners.
These are really popular with baby showers, weddings, and holiday gifts. Because of the Pastels, they tend to naturally resinate with Easter; however, these are by no means a specialized Easter treat. They’re quite delicious and we would encourage you to have a couple while sharing others amongst friends. They’re certainly good, but all things in moderation of course.
Why are we proud of this little pastry?
We stumbled into one of the greatest compliments that we could have ever been paid. We asked a customer to try one of our Macarons and learned that a trip to France had just taken place. Then we were told that there was only one pastry shop that could compare with our Macaron and that our flavor was preferred. Wow, what a compliment!
You ought to try one for yourself.
