Macaroons vs. Macarons, wait what?
Hey POPsters!
How’s #Blogilates127 going!? I am seeing your signatures and I am approving them all! GREAT JOB!!! Y’alls are crazy. Crazy amazing that is 🙂
If you haven’t printed the April Calendar yet, no worries, click here to get it – you can still make up for the days you’ve missed.
And just cuz I need to say it…you know that the 8 Min Abs video I posted wasn’t really my audition video in 1988 right? I’m reading the comments on YouTube and have had enough laughs to last me a lifetime. Hope you had a great April Fools. I really enjoyed all the tricks people played on me. It was kinda fun.
Anyway! Today I wanna show you a healthy recipe for macaroons! But before I get into the recipe, I want to quickly explain the difference between macarons and macaroons. When I shared my creation with some friends they were like wait…those aren’t macaroons!!! But yes they are. What people nowadays as macaroons are actually macarons…the ones all the fashion bloggers are gaga over. So once and for all…with pronunciation…here is the difference between a macaroon and a macaron!
Macarons are meringue based and made of egg white, almond meal, sugar, and food coloring.
Macaroons are made of egg white, sugar, and shredded coconut.
So today, I am going to show you a recipe for a confused macaroon. He is somewhere between both, but unlike the ones you see above, he doesn’t have any added sugar and is a much healthier option. Ready for the Blogilates macaroon recipe? Here it is!
INGREDIENTS:
– 1 cup almond meal (you can get this at any healthy food store or you can take almonds and blend them until fine)
– 1 cup + 1/4 cup shredded coconut
– 4-5 TBS of organic honey
– 1 TBS of non dairy milk
– dash of salt
Mix all of the ingredients above together in a bowl with your hands. Except for the 1/4 cup of shredded coconut.
Look at dat honey!
Carefully sculpt them into little balls and roll around in the other 1/4 cup of shredded coconut. Then chill in the fridge for 10-15 min.
BAM! That’s it! You’re done. These were so delish and super sweet. 1 ball with a nice cup of tea is a perfect dessert! Now, I am not saying that these are so healthy that you can eat all of them because it does have a high natural sugar and natural fat content. It’s just a better option than the traditional macaroons/macarons you see at the dessert shop. But seriously, so easy to make and you don’t even have to bake them! I hope you enjoy this recipe and will make them for your friends! Takes about 15 min to make!
Next, I will try to see if it is possible to make the pretty macarons healthy style ones…I am already thinking…beets to make them pink…I like that they are made of almond flour and egg whites. Sugar can be subbed with Stevia. This might be possible…so I will letcha know when I can figure that one out!!
Love you!
<3 Cassey
52 thoughts on “Macaroons vs. Macarons, wait what?”
There are Array52 comments posted by our users.
– there is indeed a debate on whether the 2 words mean different things, and most of the media sources are in the “totally different” camp
– however, when you take a closer look, most of the “totally different” camp arguments are not based on any credible evidence or logic; most of them simply pronounce that the 2 words refer to 2 different things and strongly suggest that if you didn’t know the difference you should be grateful for the education…most of them support their argument simply by citing someone else’s article, which cites someone else’s article…
– the “same but different spelling” camp, however, is grounded in far more credible evidence and logic, and takes pains to explain how the same word with different spelling, at various times and in various places came to mean slightly different things to certain people:
* “macarons” were a simple cookie developed in the Middle Ages-Renaissance period, made popular in the 16th-century French court of Catherine de Medici
* the word comes from the Italian word “maccherone”, which refers to something ground into a fine paste; the earliest macarons were made with egg whites, sugar and ground almond paste (as an aside the pasta macaroni shares the same root word)
* some time in the 19th-century, dried shredded coconut was added or used to replace the almonds in some recipes
* European Jews migrating to America brought the cookie with them, and for various reasons the coconut version became more prevalent in America
* as Americans are wont to doing with English words, they spelled it differently, either “macaroon” or “mackroon”
* it was not until 1930 that the Parisienne bakery Laduree started combining 2 halves of a macaron together with a ganache filling to create what is now the most familiar version of the macaron
* when the elegant French double-layered version finally made its way to America in the late 20th-century, certain food writers, out of either ignorance or cultural bias, did not recognise its commonality with the humble coconut cookie they called a “macaroon” and instead declared them completely different things
* by now of course, mangling the spelling of words was no longer in fashion, and not only did the new creation deserve to be spelt in the elegant French way, the “macaron” now had to be pronounced in the proper French way
* this mistake borne of ignorance and bias simply got repeated and perpetuated, and eventually some (but not all) English dictionaries acknowledged them as 2 different words…the single-O spelling referred to the almond-based, double-layered meringue with a cream or ganache filling, and the double-O spelling referred to the round-mound coconut-based cookie
* of course the French (and the rest of Europe) were not part of this debate, and continued to enjoy the macaron in its various forms – almond-based, coconut-based, single-layer, double-layer, etc…
* so if you go to the Alsace region in France today, you will find a Macaron D’Alsace which looks nothing like the Laduree Macaron (which is sometimes referred to as Macaron Parisien) and which some poncy foodie will insist should be called a “macaroon” because it is a round-mound cookie made with shredded coconut…and if you go to Amiens you will find a single-layer almond-based Macaron that looks more like a sponge biscuit (or a Laduree Macaron before its been sliced in half and glued back together with the filling) – if travelling to France is too difficult you can Google the photos
My eventual conclusion is that the original error was to believe the 2 spellings meant different things, due to a combination of ignorance and cultural bias.
I’ve always argued that language is a living thing, so the fact that some dictionaries acknowledge the difference may mean that, in the English language, they are now different words meaning different things. But since a quick Google search (again) will show that many people (including established food magazines) also use the double-O spelling for the Parisienne double-layer version, I’d rather view it as an etymological reunion than an error.
So the next time someone raises their eyebrows at you for calling a “macaron” a “macaroon”, please feel free to bore them with the fruits of my research…
My fave recipe. Always come back to this from time to time. =)
I’ve made it three times now. They’re so good and such a great substitute for one of my favorite snacks! My parents love it too 🙂 Thanks Cassey <3333
I never knew the exact difference between the two of them. I’m definitely going to try the macaroon recipe for dessert. I like the fact that I don’t have to bake them. Thanks for sharing!
Wow, this looks amazing! My family and I are trying to eat a healthier, non-processed diet. My mom thinks we should eat the things humans were made to eat, not the things they make in factories. 😛 Anyways, it’s amazing, and I am so glad I found you!
That looks so good! I’ve never had either one, but this seems like the best of both worlds
“MACAROON A small, round, biscuit (cookie) crunchy outside and soft inside, made with ground almonds, sugar and egg whites.” -Larousse Gastronomique (“The World’s Greatest Culinary Encyclopeida)
If Larousse Gastronomique spells it “macaroon”, I will stick by it.
To this, I direct you here:
http://languageoffood.blogspot.com/2011/04/macaroons-macarons-and-macaroni.html
Thank you for posting that! I had so much fun reading it.
Just made these for the second time but this time I used desiccated coconut and I added some very finely chopped dried apricots. Even yummier! I felt like they tasted too much like honey so the apricots added an extra flavor. Now trying to decide what to add next time, maybe some finely chopped nuts for texture?
I made these last night! So good!
I never knew about macarons. I’m glad you posted this, and thanks for the pics. Your macaroons recipe is wonderful. Love the ingredients and how easy it is, I don’t even have to worry about baking them.
I just made quinoa almond joy bars from a recipe I saw on Pinterest….it seems like something you should make, Cassey!
Day 6 done phew
Miley cyrus abs….. Killed me!!!!
I hav so much respect to the people that can do the hand leg thingy!!!
Hey Cassey! I know this isn’t really relevant to the post, but I noticed that one of the workouts “Slimmer Inner Thighs” was posted on the April Calendar twice… for Saturday, April 6 and Tuesday, April 9…or is that just me seeing that? o.O
Hi Cassey!
I know this is not relevant to the macaroons but I would like to ask if you have any Greek yogurt recipe to recommend? I have started replacing one of my meals with Greek yogurt and the taste is a little hard to get used to. are there any way to make it more palatable?
i love to follow your workouts, but recently workout i found out ur arms not toning like before?
how to achieve arms like in your bikini blaster workout?
In Sweden we call macaroon “kokostoppar”, which loosely translates to “coconut-tops”. Makes it less confusing 🙂 Can’t wait to try your recipe!
nice recipe.but it has actually nothing to do with neither a macaron nor a macaroon. it’s a raw almonds ball. but for macaro(o)ns beaten egg whitesare the essential ingredient I think…
Those look SO good! I will totally try to make them this weekend! Oh and you totally got me on that video, I was like whaa, Cassey doesn’t look that old?! LOL
I always get confused with these two, I thought macarons was just the french pronunciation of macaroons? Ah so confused! haha!
http://www.beblacknblue.blogspot.co.uk
BLOGLOVIN’
Wow! Have to do these!
But what could I use instead of stevia? It is very difficult to get in Denmark!
Hope to get your answer!
Love-Emilie
In germany we make macaroons or rather “Makronen” for Christmas. But maybe I’ll break with tradition 😉 especially since it is still really freezing around here!
You can also make macaroons with ground nuts. I usually mix hazelnuts and almonds.
They look great, i will definitely try them.
I love love love this! I love seeing healthy desserts. I love replacing butter with zucchini, beets, apple sauce or banana! Natural sugar is the way to go. I definitely have a preference for maple syrup though! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for distinguishing b/t macarons & macaroons, Cassey! I actually prefer macaroons b/c I <3 LOVE <3 LOVE <3 LOVE <3 coconut, so I'm very excited to see your recipe =D & I'm really enjoying #Blogilates127 so far; my commitment to Blogilates has gotten me far w/noticeable results, & this month no doubt will bring me even further @ this rate 😉
I know the diff between macarons and macaroons but I still call macarons “macaroons” and just ignore actual macaroons cos I’ve never really liked them! But all these healthier-versions of sweets that you create never fail to disappoint, so I will definitely try making these! 😀
Oohh! Looks so yummy! I can’t wait to try these healthy versions. Do you have any smoothie recommendations? I am trying your 90 Challenge Diet and I was wondering if I could substitute a nice fruit/protein/smoothie thing for breakfast on the go. Thanks Cassie! Love all the work you put into blogilates! 🙂 <3 AND LOVE YOU! Stay strong~
90 Day* Challenge Diet
ach! mild nut allergy. suggestions regarding any alternative?
The comments on your 8-min abs video gave me some good laughs too. Particularly the ones that were like ‘it gave it away when i saw your hair’ 😀 hehe, I’m usually super gullible, so for once it was nice to see that others can be too!
Recipe looks great, going to need to try it one time! And thanks for the lesson on macaroons, I saw your first pic and was like ‘… thats not a macaroon, is it?’ 😉
Brilliant! I love that the recipe is vegan, too (well, honey is debatable, but you can sub agave). Thank you for sharing!
OMG I totally gotta try this!
BUUT I just gotta say Cassey, that I absolutely love you and all the video’s you do for us! Day 3 of April AND day 3 of your 90 day meal plan….I feel EMPOWERED!!!
LOVE YOU
Kelly <3
Ooh looks good! Will have to try it sometime soon 🙂
I’m loving this. I just changed it a bit though and my gosg, I will be making it all the time now. Thank you so much, Cassey. I used 2 Tbsp almond milk, 1 scoop choco flavor protein powder and just used 1 tbsp honey and 3/4 cuo coconut. It is to die for. I love all your recipes.
hate coconut.. anything i could use instead? thanks!
Not sure if they’d be macaroons anymore without coconut? At least in the conventional sense…
I’ve tried using Stevia in tea and notice is has a bad aftertaste to me. I’m wondering if the aftertaste is present in the baked goods. Does anyone know?
I tried to make the change from regular sugar to stevia in baked goods and the transition was not pleasant. There is a very distinct aftertaste and the food doesn’t rise the way it normally would.
Ugh! Thanks Jordan! Have you found another sugar substitute that tastes better?
You could try brown sugat coz it is healthier than normal sugar and im sure of you look hard enough youl find an amazers substitute!!
Try sweet leaf. It’s still stevia but its liquid drops and doesn’t have an aftertaste. I don’t know how much you have to put in though…
What non-dairy milk did you use?
Like soy milk and coconut milk xx
When are we going to get our prizes from the weight training app? Its been like three months! What is the hold up?
Hi Amy!
Sorry this has taken so long! One of the team members over there was out for a long, long time. This should be going out soon!
Hi Amy!
Sorry this has taken so long! One of the team members over there was out for a long, long time. This should be going out soon!
Haha, I always called the dessert made outta beaten egg whites just “meringues” and the other dessert were just macaroons. I’ve never heard of anyone confusing the two.
Thanks for the recipe Cass, will be trying soon! Not sure how I will resist only eating one though!! 🙂
Thank you for clearing it up! It drives me NUTS when people call macarons “macaroons.” Love your blog btw! Can’t wait to try the recipe out (:
Funny thing – in polish “macaron” (but with “k” instead of “c”) means pasta 🙂 I know it’s kinda irrelevant but it was a bit funny for me 🙂
Uh…I saw this recipe listed on a health website this morning.
Love that you cleared things up between those two confusing yummy desserts! 🙂 I love both! 🙂