They’re petite, delicate, colorful and come in endless varieties that melt in your mouth. Yes, I’m talking about macarons! Macarons seem to make any occasion more special, and we’ve certainly found that to be true due to their popularity at our Passport to Paris, Holiday Cookie Exchange, and New Year's Eve Extravaganza events.
Passport to Paris Macarons
While macarons have been around since the 8th century in Italy, they arrived in France in the 16th century. However, it wasn’t until the 1800s that macarons began to be served as we know them today - two cookies sandwiched with a filling. Today, macarons are popular in countries all over the world.
A frequent point of confusion for people is the difference between macarons and macaroons, so let’s start there! A macaron is a French meringue based cookie made with almond powder, egg whites, sugar, and food coloring. A macaroon, of similar name, is in actuality very different. Macaroons are a sweet chewy coconut (though it was also originally almond based) treat somewhere between the texture of a cookie and a cake. Macaroons are delicious too, but we’re focusing on macarons here.
Until recently, it seemed to me that finding the perfect macaron would send me on another search throughout the city (or world) to find which French bakeries made the best, but I soon realized I need not look any further than our own kitchens at The Chopping Block. Our expert pastry chef, Erin Patsiopoulos recently lead our Macaron Workshop class, and I picked up some fun tricks of the trade. I finally think I might stand a chance of successfully making some myself!
First, if you’re thinking about venturing into the world of macarons, here are the weapons, I mean tools, that may not have (you’ll need bowls and utensils too, of course):
- A Silpat: this is a French made non-stick baking mat that is extremely useful in the kitchen, well beyond just macarons. A Silpat will last a long time and keep you from spending lots of time yelling at yourself as you try to scrape caramels, candy, and the like from a baking sheet.
- A clean baking sheet.
- A piping bag with tips.
- PATIENCE – No one gets it perfect on the first, second, or twentieth try, so give yourself some time to practice. Piping perfectly sized circles is a LOT harder than you might think!
Second, you’ll want to learn some macaron lingo as you’re likely to find these terms used in recipes:
- Macaronnage: the process of spreading the batter against the bowl, is no simple feat. If done less than 10 times you risk your macarons lacking luster. Do it more than 20 times and oil stains may appear!
- Pied: French for “foot”, a proper macaron has a foot (the ruffled edge at the bottom).
Lastly, head to the grocery store and make sure you have the macaron staples:
- Almond Flour
- Eggs (you’ll really just be using the white)
- Confectioners’ Sugar
- Food coloring: be careful here, it can change the consistency of your perfect macarons!
Now that you have the tools you need, and the lingo down, here’s what you’re looking for. The perfect macaron will have a smooth, shiny top, and ruffled edge.
But with just a couple of weeks until Valentine’s Day to practice, you may want to leave it to our chefs and pick up a box of our house-made macarons in 6 amazing flavors for $18 as edible Valentine's gifts. Flavors include: lemon, pistachio, raspberry, white chocolate, espresso-hazelnut, and chocolate! Boxes can be ordered through our website or by calling either location of The Chopping Block for pick up Friday, February 10th through Tuesday, February 14th. What a great way to spread some love this Valentine’s Day! Pair these delicious macarons with a kit for the special someone that likes to bake, or get them a spot in one of our upcoming hands-on Macaron Workshops. There's one coming up on February 18th at the Merchandise Mart!
