Parisian Macaroons

I stepped into Bakery Nouveau and, as I wiped the drool from my chin, my eyes fell upon them - gasp, mon dieu! - les macarons. These are not coconut macaroons, mon cher. While I adore a good coconut macaroon, Parisian macaroons are in another cookie league altogether. They are quite hard to find in U.S. bakeries, so you can imagine my excitement over them. Pink, yellow, purple, green, white. Clapping my hands and hopping up and down like I'm five, I declared, "One of each color please!" (Actually, I did restrain myself a bit, but such passion makes for better confection fiction, non?)

Bakery Nouveau

Typically, Parisian macaroons are two meringue-like cookies (crispy and wafer-thin on the outside with moist insides) sandwiched together with pastry cream or ganache. The meringue melts in your mouth followed by its creamy filling. C'est bon!

If you're lucky enough to find yourself in Paris use Sally Peabody's Your Great Days in Paris as a guide to finding macaroons and other patisseries.