Youve seen shaggy looking, super delicious coconut macaroons (chocolate coconut macaroons, in this case) like this:
And youve probably wondered something along the lines of “where do macaroons come from,” or “why are all these cookies called macaroons when they dont look anything alike?!”
Contemporary macarons are typically associated with France, but versions of them are said to have been enjoyed in Europe all the way back to the Middle Ages. As it turns out, it’s actually the Italians who we may have to thank for the original cookies.
The Ancient History of Macaroons
The story goes back more than 1000 years to the Arab empire of the 600-700s. When the empire expanded up through Northern Africa into whats now Sicily, the Arabs, as youd expect, brought their foods with them.
One of the foods they brought with them was a sweet “cookie” made from honey and a ground up nut flour – probably pistachio, but possibly also almond or other nuts.
The Sicilians called this food “maccheroni” as it was made up of a ground nut and maccheroni referred to any food, savory or sweet, made from something ground up – nut, wheat, whatever.
Over time, the sweet maccheroni evolved to incorporate egg whites for leavening and utilized the bitter almonds known so well throughout the Italian peninsula.
This cookie, made from ground almonds, sweetened with sugar, and leavened with egg whites, is more or less what we still know today as the Italian macaroon (the Italians know it as “amaretti” as maccheroni no longer refers to quite as broad an array of foods as it once did).
Exporting Macaroons to France
In the 1500s, Catherine de Medici, from one of the most prominent Italian families, married into French royalty and moved to France. Like the Arabs almost 800 years before her, she, too, brought her favorite cookies with her.
It was here that she introduced the sweet Italian “maccheroni” to the French. Upon their adoption into French cuisine, the Italian maccheroni were directly translated into French as “macarons.”
It wasnt until the early 1900s when Pierre Desfontaines, the grandson of a fellow named Lauduree who owned a bakery bearing his name, sandwiched the two macarons around a chocolate ganache filling. Pierre introduced this sandwich to his grandfathers bakery and more or less from then on, the French macaron formally diverged from its Italian origin as this form became whats now commonly known as a macaron.
Its not a stretch to imagine swapping out almond flour for ground up coconut. As coconut grew in popularity from its introduction to Europe by Vasco de Gama in the 1500s to the international food boom in post WWI and WWII United States, chefs and bakers sought out new ways to use new ingredients. The swap of almond flour for shredded coconut was, as far as were concerned, a stroke of brilliance that stuck with the market.
The form is quite different from the original Italian macaroon or amaretto, and certainly different still from the French macarons sandwich, but this is largely due to the size of the “flour” – those macaroons use a very finely ground nut flour whereas coconut macaroons utilize a much coarser “flour.” Otherwise, theyre the same!
Weve taken the coconut macaroons humble origin and tried to spice them up a bit. We hope you enjoy what you find here.
How authentic Macarons from France are made
FAQ
Do macarons come from France?
Are macarons Italian or French?
Are macaroons a Paris thing?
Are coconut macaroons from France?
What is a French macaron?
A macaron ( / ˌmækəˈrɒn / MAK-ə-RON, French: [makaʁɔ̃] ⓘ ) or French macaroon ( / ˌmækəˈruːn / MAK-ə-ROON ) is a sweet meringue -based confection made with egg white, icing sugar, granulated sugar, almond meal, and often food colouring.
Where do macarons come from?
Melding the qualities of a small cake and a cookie or biscuit and invariably made with egg whites, sugar and ground almonds, each iteration of the macaron is a proud tradition in several French cities and regions. These include St-Jean de Luz in Basque Country, Nancy, Amiens, Chartres, Boulay and Cormery. And that’s not even the whole list.
Where are macarons made in France?
Elsewhere in France there are other legends, more stories of the making and popularity of macarons. Saint-Emilion is famous for its macarons, and the Pays Basque macarons are renowned, and of course Paris. Especially those produced by one of the most famous macaron makers in the world – Ladurée.
Where can you buy French macarons?
Outside of Europe, the French-style macaron can be found in Canada and the United States. In Australia, Adriano Zumbo and his TV series MasterChef have contributed to the macaron becoming a popular sweet treat, and it is now sold by McDonald’s in its Australian McCafe outlets.