Macaron vs. Macaroon

I don’t know about you, but I’ve never truly understood the difference between macarons and macaroons. In fact, I’ve never even realized that the two were different; I’d just call them all macaroons. That is, until my friend told me that the two are separate desserts.

Turns out, a macaron is a little sandwich made of almond flour and meringue and held together by a layer of buttercream filling. The macaron was first introduced in France by the Italian pastry chefs of Queen Catherine de Medici during the Renaissance era. In the beginning, macarons were actually small confections made of almonds, egg whites, and sugar and were crunchy on the outside but soft on the inside. The macarons were made to commemorate the marriage of the Queen and Henry II of France. Macarons became popular in France during the French Revolution. Two nuns in particular baked and sold these decadent desserts, and soon became known as the “Macaron Sisters.” However, the macarons we know today are actually the creation of the French capital and a famous macaron company, ​Macaron Parisien, founded by Louis-Ernest Ladurée. Further popularization of the macaron was encouraged with the release of the film Marie Antoinette, in which the queen is surrounded in piles of colorful macarons.