First, let me start off by saying that I am unsure when the spelling m-a-c-a-r-o-n is appropriate or when to instead use m-a-c-a-r-o-o-n. I was always under the impression that macaroons were the cookies made from shaved coconut and that macarons were the little colorful French sandwich cookies. I wish I knew if I were in fact correct in that distinction or not, but alas I may never know because I find contradictory information around every turn.
Now let the jealousy ensue…
In July my best friend and her new husband went on their honeymoon to France. And because she is very sweet and thoughtful, on a stop to the famous Laduree Paris, they picked me up a box of French macarons (as you can see I am choosing to use this spelling…even though Laduree’s own website uses the alternate spelling).
One magical day in the middle of July I received a package in the mail. And inside that package was the most lovely little box I have ever seen.
(amazingly lovely Laduree Paris macaron box)
Isn’t it amazingly lovely?
Opening that lovely little box was like opening a present inside a present. Everything was so unbelievably beautiful that I wanted to be very careful not to rip anything and ruin all its prettiness.
(carefully working my way to the macarons inside)
When I finally succeeded in carefully opening that lovely little box, it was filled with some of the most beautiful cookies I have ever seen. A little worse for the ware due to traveling in a suitcase back from France, and then traveling through the mail from Wisconsin to my doorstep, but still beautiful (just a tad crumbly).
(macarons from Laduree Paris, plus a few crumbs)
That didn’t change how yummy they were. I slowly worked my way through the box of colorful macarons flavor by flavor, having one cookie a day (sometimes two when I just couldn’t resist). I wanted these special decadent cookies to last as long as possible.
Until one day when I was left with one last lonely single macaron (and some crumbs).
(the last macaron, pistachio flavored I believe)
That was a sad day. But I took photos of each of the lovely little cookies and tried my best to determine the flavor of each along the way.
(Rose? Chocolate.)
(Coffee. Blackcurrant violet?)
(Vanilla. Raspberry.)
(Pistachio? Lemon.)
I wonder if some day I will have the pleasure of enjoying more of these gorgeous macarons. Perhaps if I ever visit Paris again (*crossing my fingers*).
For more reading regarding Laduree see:
And to see my entire Laduree macaron flikr set see:
Credit: All photos taken by me. Beautiful French cookies made by Laduree Paris.
