Macaron
In honor of National Cookie Month, we are busting the macaron/macaroon confusion. Contrary to popular belief, they are not the same thing. Let’s break it down:
Macarons [mah-kah-ROHN]: A French confection, often brightly colored, consisting of two light sandwich disks made from a batter of egg whites, sugar and almond flour surrounding a sweet, sometimes chewy, filling.
The macaron, or as they are sometimes called, French macaroons (to make it that much more confusing), are a meringue-based cookie with a crunchy exterior and nougat-like chewy interior made of buttercream, ganache or fruit curd.
This sweet, trendy pastry, which used to refer only to the unfilled biscuits, only took on its modern appearance at the beginning of the 20th century when Louis Ernest Ladurée, of the famous Ladurée pastry shop founded in Paris, put the two cookies together with a chocolate ganache filling. Thus, this contemporary cookie, the baby of the bourgeoisie, was born.
Making these delicate biscuits requires a certain chef’s finesse. Attaining the perfect texture is difficult to master, as it depends on the perfect execution of “macaronage,” folding the dry ingredients into the fluffy, fragile egg whites. The perfect crunch of the domed cookie and its characteristic crinkled ruffle (called a foot) can also be ruined if every step is not executed with absolute precision.
For macarons, skip the headache and head to Olivia Macaron in Washington, D.C. Right now they have seasonal Pumpkin Spice, Nutella and Fig Balsamic macarons, along with other classic mouthwatering flavors.
Macaroons [ma-kah-ROON]: A dense drop cookie made of egg white, sugar, and coconut or almond paste.
Macaroons have their origins in Italy, where these cookies originally were made with almond paste. Eventually, some bakers broke from tradition, swapping shredded coconut for the almond paste or using ground almonds, finely ground into flour. The sweet, thick coconut cookie caught fire with the Jewish community and often is served during Passover because it contains no flour.
Though their names differ by just a letter, the two treats are quite different in terms of creation. With only three to five ingredients and some simple mixing, sweet, moist macaroon puffs can come together perfectly in no time. Achieving the chewy soft inside and the golden crisp outside is a simple matter; these pillowy cookies take only about 10 to 15 minutes to prepare.
Although they aren’t as colorful as the vibrant macaron, you can dip macaroons in chocolate, add ingredients to their simple batter or fill them with cream for more variety.
Want to see just how simple they really are? We went ahead and made them for you. Watch to see how we recreated these deliciously sweet and chewy Coconut Macaroons, with a recipe courtesy of the Food Network.
For a recipe that is just as easy as the traditional but gives added zest and flavor, try the Food Network’s Coconut-Cranberry Macaroons shaped into pyramids for an artsy architectural twist.
A more decadent variation adds chocolate and macadamia nuts in Alton Brown’s Paradise Macaroons, which aren’t called paradise for nothing.
Whether you buy them or make them, and no matter which you claim as your favorite, never confuse a macaron or a macaroon again!
