MACARONS | French recipe | the easiest way to enjoy them | No complicated steps

Macarons (or to be precise, the Italian counterpart: Maccherones), were introduced around the 16th Century, seemingly by Queen Catherine De Medici, who brought the sweet treat to France. At this time, the types of macarons produced by her chef were simply a small sweet with a soft inside and a crunchy outer shell.
Said to have been introduced to France by Queen Catherine de Medici’s Italian chef, they used to be called “priests’ bellybuttons” due to the shape of the biscuits! Another account has it that the origin of the macarons can be traced further back to a French monastery in Cormery in the 8th century.

Macarons only became a part of French culture when, during the Renaissance, French queen Catherine de’ Medici’s Italian pastry chefs made them for her when they travelled with her to France in 1533 when she married Henry II of France.
Separated by more than just one O, macarons and macaroons may have similar sounding names, but these two cookies couldn’t be more different when it comes to taste and technique. A macaron is a sandwich-like cookie that’s filled with jam, ganache, or buttercream. A macaroon is a drop cookie made using shredded coconut.
Either Italian or French meringue can be combined with ground almonds. The two elements are then folded together until they are the consistency of “shaving foam”, and then are piped, left to form a skin, and baked. Sometimes, a filling is added.

Variations

Macarons in a variety of colours
Macarons in a Pierre Marcolini shop window
Macarons (caramel and salt) on sale at Two International Finance Centre (IFC), Hong Kong

France
Several French cities and regions claim long histories and variations, notably Lorraine (Nancy and Boulay), Basque Country (Saint-Jean-de-Luz), Saint-Émilion, Amiens, Montmorillon, Le Dorat, Sault, Chartres, Cormery, Joyeuse and Sainte-Croix in Burgundy.

Macarons d’Amiens, made in Amiens, are small, round-shaped biscuit-type macarons made from almond paste, fruit and honey, which were first recorded in 1855.

The city of Montmorillon is well known for its macarons and has a museum dedicated to them. The Maison Rannou-Métivier is the oldest macaron bakery in Montmorillon, dating back to 1920. The traditional recipe for Montmorillon macarons has remained unchanged for over 150 years.

The town of Nancy in the Lorraine region has a storied history with the macaron. It is said that the abbess of Remiremont founded an order of nuns called the “Dames du Saint-Sacrement” with strict dietary rules prohibiting the consumption of meat. Two nuns, Sisters Marguerite, and Marie-Elisabeth are credited with creating the Nancy macaron to fit their dietary requirements. They became known as the ‘Macaron Sisters’ (Les Soeurs Macarons). In 1952, the city of Nancy honoured them by giving their name to the Rue de la Hache, where the macaron was invented.

India
Thoothukudi in Tamil Nadu has its own variety of macaroon made with cashews instead of almonds, adapted from macarons introduced in colonial times.

Japan
Macarons in Japan are a popular confection known as マカロン (makaron). There is also another widely available version of makaron which substitutes peanut flour for almond and a wagashi-style flavouring. The makaron is featured in Japanese fashion through cell phone accessories, stickers, and cosmetics aimed towards women.

Switzerland
In Switzerland, Luxemburgerli (also Luxembourger) are a brand name of macaron made by Confiserie Sprüngli in Zürich. A Luxemburgerli comprises two disks of almond meringue[30] with a buttercream filling in of many available flavors. Luxemburgerli are smaller and lighter than macarons from many other vendors.

United States
Pastry chefs in the US have expanded the classic cookie to include such varied flavours as mint chocolate chip, peanut butter and jelly, Snickers, peach champagne, pistachio, strawberry cheesecake, candy corn, salted pretzel, chocolate peanut butter, oatmeal raisin, candy cane, cinnamon, maple bacon, pumpkin, and salted caramel popcorn.

South Korea
In addition to macarons, fat-carons (뚱까롱, thick macarons), also called tungcarons, were invented and became popular in South Korea. The bakers intentionally overfill the macaron filings and later decorate them as well. The appearance can resemble more to that of a small ice cream sandwich