Macaroons: The List of the Best in Paris

Connoisseurs of Parisian pậtisseries are reaping the benefit from a surge of innovation. In particular, the matchless macaroon is being reinvented, and offered in an exponentially expanding array of flavors, sizes and shapes. This small example of the dance of the classic and the cutting edge embodies that which ever-energizes contemporary Paris. For even in its cookie-crafting, the City of Light, while illumined by its deep sense of heritage, keeps right on pursuing its quests for perfection in ever-brighter ways.

Adapting and improving the macaroon has become an object of intense competition. The players currently include the macaroon-masters at the venerable Ladurée, Gerard Mulot, Dalloyau, Lenộtre, Pierre Hermé, and other quintessential Parisian pậtisseries. In such establishments, macaroons are going through celestial transformations in size, shape and flavor, even while the perennially delicious classic varieties remain intact.

I discovered the delights of macaroons several years ago when caught in a moment of indecision between beautifully crafted fruit tarts. While scanning those gems, I noted pyramidal piles of gaily colored discs. What were these cookies comprised of two perfectly raised rounds with brightly colored ganache between the layers? After purchasing three different flavors, I was hooked.
At first the flavor choices were lusciously canonical. Macaroons were available in either chocolate, coffee, raspberry, pistachio or lemon. But now! Savor such newly minted tastes as praline, orange, and caramel. Or, flavors like rose petal, olive oil, white truffle, cardamom or apricot-ginger? Parisians have obviously been reveling in this veritable fervor of macaroon experimentation!
Skillfully made macaroons are deceptively light, yet rich and filling, the perfect blend of the crunchy, the chewy, and the creamy. And, whatever the variety they will be intensely flavored.

Traditionally round, macaroons came in two sizes. Large macaroons are approximately two-and-a-half inches wide, while the smaller ones are a bit over an inch across. The latter size conveniently encourages simultaneous sampling for flavor comparison. But when you are purchasing the larger ones for immediate consumption, alas, just one at a time is surely sufficient.
Shapes, too, are being transformed. Innovators are now crafting macaroons in small squares of pure pleasure, branching out from those classic rounds. The square macaroon, first perfected by Lenộtre and renamed the “macaree,” has also been exquisitely refined at Ladurée. Plus, the square versions are two, even three, layers thick, thus packing more sublimely rich taste into every cookie.

The result? Lines of connoisseurs keep forming to savor the ever-new. The possibilities, it seems, are quite endless for savory, or sweet, or even spicy macaroons. Indeed, Pierre Hermé now offers the increasingly famous rose-petal-flavored Ispahan, enclosing ganache, litchis, and big fresh raspberries. Such a delicacy is as beautiful to regard as it is to eat, a truly gorgeous confection that pushes the bounds of hand-held feasting.
Macaroon madness, it seems, is going mainstream. A recent visit to the Bon Marché’s Grand Epicerie yielded mini-macaroons in both traditional and “exotic” flavors. And, even the corner pậtisseries are likely to join in by expanding their own range of selections.

Where, then, to find your finest macaroons? It is a difficult choice between Gerard Mulot, Pierre Hermé, Dallayou, Lenộtre and Ladurée. But as is always the joy of Paris, tantalizingly good macaroons are around many a corner. You will find them prominently displayed in both high-quality and quotidian pậtisserie, in tea salons, and in the aisles of superb specialty stores, including the food halls of the Grands Magasins and Fauchon. And what could be more fun than finding some personally favorite sources for your own tour de macaroons?

Bonnes Addresses:

• Pierre Hermé: 72 rue Bonaparte, Paris 7. M°: St. Germain des Pres
  
• Ladurée: 16 rue Royale, Paris 8. M°: Madeleine. Other locations on rue Bonaparte and the Champs-Elysees
  
• Gerard Mulot: 76 rue de Seine, Paris 6. M°: Odéon or St. Germain des Prés
  
• Lenộtre: 61 rue Lecourbe, Paris 15. M°: Sevres-Lecourbe. Various other locations around Paris.
  
• Dalloyau: 25 boulevard des Capucines, Paris 2. M°: Opera. Various other locations around Paris.