Their name comes from the Italian word “maccherone” which means to beat or crush, used here in reference to the nut (predominantly almond) flour that these desserts are made with.
Although the history of the macaron is a little foggy, most sources agree that they date back to the early 1500’s when Caterine de Medici’s Italian pastry chefs were brought over to France after her marriage to Henry II. The chefs began creating cookies made of almonds, egg whites and sugar. It wasn’t until about 400 years later when chef Pierre Desfontaines, of the famous pastry shop Laduree, had the brilliant idea to create a ganache sandwich using this wonderful almond cookie.
Ever since, these little pastries have been a fashionable part of every French pastry shop and currently a big trend in confectioneries all over the world. Laduree is still the ongoing trend setter for this dessert matching macaron flavours (and gift boxes containing these) with haute couture fashion designers. (http://www.laduree.fr/)
