Today is National Macaroon Day. It’s a day to celebrate and enjoy these little treats. But there might be some confusion out there about Macaroons verses Macarons. While they may sound like the same thing, they are both very different. I thought I would take a little time to explain the difference.
Today’s celebration is for the macaroon, which is a coconut cookie. It is an easy cookie to make because it only has a few ingredients – shredded coconut, condensed milk, and egg whites. Rather than rolling the cookie out, it is dropped onto a cookie tray. For this reason, not all the cookies will be the same size. If you want to get fancy with these cookies they can be dipped into chocolate. I would make these for my uncle at Christmas because they were his favorite.
The other Macaron is a French cookie. It is meringue based. The two halves are filled with either a ganache, jam, or even a buttercream icing. Any time I have seen macarons in pastry shops they are always bright, fun colors. I have never made these versions myself because they are said to be very difficult to make.
So now you understand the difference between each of these cookies. Head out to your local bakery and pick some up today.
Enjoy!
T
