You say macaroon, I say macaron…

The other day, I bought these macarons.

I had every intention of bringing them back to work and sharing… but they didn’t make it back to the office. Whoops.

So of course after lunch I was telling my friend Demi about them (I know… horrible friend) and she was saying that she had never had one and asked “What’s the difference between macarons and macaroons?”

First of all, these are the commonly known coconut MACAROONS

And these are French MACARONS

MacaROONs have almond paste, egg whites, sugar, coconut, and when I made them they had flour and vanilla and almond extract.

MacaRONs have almond flour (finely ground almonds), egg whites, sugar, and different flavors/colors depending on what you’re making. (cocoa powder, espresso powder, etc).

MacaROONs are mixed up, placed in balls on a cookie sheet and baked.

MacaRONs are mixed, the egg whites are whipped and folded, sugar is added slowly, batter is piped and allowed to set before baking and being watched oh so carefully before being taken out of the oven.

MacaROONs are easier to transport, can be dipped in chocolate to jazz them up, or eaten plain.

MacaRONs are delicate and come in many, many flavors.

I’ve made both and I love both, but in my mind, they are completely different things. The name for both comes from the Italian word maccarone, which means paste, and comes from the word for crush, or beat. Makes sense, since they use a crushed or paste form of almonds.

I took a macaRON class and have a huge appreciation for the art of making this cookie. They are so tempermental and sensitive to humidity, time, etc. Its a little victory every time they come out perfect.

If you want to check out some real French macarons, check out Gillian’s Macaron Battle from Paris. Like I need another reason to want to go back!

Have you had macaroons and macarons? What’s your favorite flavor of macaron? I’m partial to chocolate, but had a delicious cinnamon one the other day!