3.30.2009

The Macaron

I am going to Nice next spring for a semester abroad. Of all of the wonderful things to see there, I'm of course most excited for the food!!! (Ok, and the Cote d'Azur.) And there is one specialty that I want more than anything... les macarons!

This lovely picture is from Amuses bouche. Like their cookies, I've noticed that French blogs are very well-presented as well as being mouth-wateringly inspiring.

I am desperate to try these. I have, of course, had a macaroon before--I've even made them several times. But they are not the same cookie. It is like comparing cheesecake and flan: they have some of the same ingredients, and they are both desserts, but the comparison ends there. French macarons are an entirely different class of confection, and they seem to be a symbol among the baking community. And why not? Look how cute!!

American macaroons are sometimes difficult to get right. I won't pretend I've made them perfectly, ok, well. Ok, even successfully. Mine have always turned out too flat, or too dry, or too sandy... They are edible, of course, because how can almonds, coconut, egg white, and sugar be inedible? My brother and sister wolfed them down this summer the two times I tried. (I don't usually judge success on my family and friends' reactions, because like me, they will eat anything edible.)

But these cookies are nothing like what I've made! In typical French fashion, macarons are tent iems more beautiful than my peaked and uneven German-american macaroons. I don't think that that speaks poorly of macaroons; these treats are just different and exotic.

If you know anything about macarons, or where I can get them in the Baltimore/DC area, please tell me!

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