French Macarons (Macaroons)

Making macaroons is as much an art form as it is a baking challenge, even for the accomplished cook, Lelchuk says. A good macaroon should be smooth with no cracks in the pastry. And each cookie round should contain a "foot," a crackly, puffed second layer that measures about 1/16-inch high.

"If you don't see a foot, you've probably overmixed your batter," Lelchuk says. "A flat foot either means you overmixed or you underbaked."

The history of the French macaroon is as elusive as the perfect texture. According to Relais Desserts, a French trade publication for bakers, the cookie was probably developed in the Andalusia region of Spain before the 1492 expulsion of the Jews and was created for Passover, when foods with flour and leavening are forbidden.

Others believe that it was introduced to France by Italy and was made famous by two Carmelite nuns who baked and sold them during the French Revolution to make a living. Relais Desserts says the name macaron probably originates from a combination of the Greek term for "cake of the blessed" and the Italian word macaroni.

France's King Louis XIV is said to have served macaroons at his wedding. But according to most sources, it wasn't until 1862, when baker Louis-Ernest Ladurée decided to turn the little cake into a cookie sandwich, that the pastry was popularized.

Until the late 1980s, macaroon flavors were pretty prosaic - chocolate, vanilla, coffee and an occasional raspberry. Hermé, who originally worked at Ladurée, is credited for expanding the macaroon repertoire and even introducing savory versions, like his now faddish ketchup one.


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