This may come as a surprise to some of you, so I am going to share this random fact about me:
Until last week, I had never tried a macaron.
Honestly, it bothered me that this was the situation. For years now I’ve heard people rave about these petite French cookies, and I’d been dying to get my hands on one. But, alas, I just never seemed to cross paths with a bakery or restaurant that served them. Until last week.
International Mall in Tampa just opened up a new shop downstairs by Nordstrom: Le Macaron. When Justin and I stepped out into the mall after perusing Nordstrom’s shoe section, my eyes locked on the newly opened shop like lasers. I think I actually squealed in excitement. Macarons! I was FINALLY going to get my hands on one!!!! After staring into their glass case for a few minutes, I decided on the Caramel Fleur de Sel, and Justin selected the Walnut.
They were so perfect and pretty…I almost couldn’t bite into them. But I did. And I can officially say that I’m a fan of macarons.
I love the contrasting textures you get when biting into a macaron – there is the crunch of the outer “shell,” if you will, paired with the soft, somewhat gooey texture from the center and filling. YUM! Although the Caramel Fleur de Sel macaron was delicious, I think the Walnut one took the prize for best flavor on this occasion.
After perusing the mall for another hour or two, we decided we could not leave without bringing home a box of 6 more to sample. You know, for scientific purposes.
Again, I found myself hesitant to touch them: Le Macaron’s packaging is oh so very cute with their white boxes and polka dotted tissue paper. We selected 6 different flavors to sample at home:
Left row (top to bottom): Gingerbread, Belgian Chocolate, Madagascar Black Vanilla
Right row (top to bottom): Walnut, Crunchy Praline, Basil White Chocolate
I hate to admit that I probably could have eaten all 6 cookies by myself, but I shared them with Justin and my parents for dessert that evening. Stand out flavors definitely included the Madagascar Black Vanilla (can you go wrong with a classic?) and the Walnut (again). The Belgian chocolate was also delightful. The Basil White Chocolate was a bit of a shock: Le Macaron really doesn’t lie when they say the flavor is basil – it tasted like chewing a fresh basil leaf! Now, for some people it was too much…and I do admit that a bit more white chocolate with the Basil White Chocolate flavor would have been nice for balance. Ah well, the things you do for science…
If you are in the Tampa area, I definitely would suggest dropping by Le Macaron to purchase a little French treat. They also offer a selection of Norman Love chocolates (beautiful!) and gelato/sorbet. Now, the flavors I sampled aren’t completely representative of all the offerings at Le Macaron: other flavors include Black Currant, Candid Ginger Chocolate (I really want to try that one), Creme Brulee, Columbian Coffee, Chestnut, Coconut, Passionfruit Dark Chocolate, Sicilian Pistachio, Fresh Mint White Chocolate, Raspberry, and Lemon Cream. I guess I’ll have to go back to try a few more…
Are you a fan of macarons? What is your favorite flavor to indulge in?
I’ve never had one, either.
I always thought a macaroon was those chocolate buds with coconut in them.
You’re not wrong! A macaroon is the cookie with coconut. I actually made a bird’s nest look-alike batch around Easter. A macaron (with one o) is a different cookie, like the ones in this post! Both are delicious, though!
these look amazing
Xo Megan
I’m really trying to resist the temptation to go back and throw down a ton of money on more of them!
i looooove macarons! can’t believe you hadn’t had it before!! soo good!!
I can’t believe it either! I am officially in love with them now….
I LOVE these tasty little treats! I used to frequent this little shop off Rodeo Dr when I lived in LA. So worth every penny!
My favorites are always the nut flavors (i.e walnut or pistaccio), coffee, or citrus flavors(i.e lemon, currant, orange, etc)!
I really want to try one of the coffee flavors, and maybe a fruit one, next time!
I have never had them either and now I think next time I see one I am going to have to try it!
Do it! They are definitely a treat!
Macarons are my fave! You have to try the other flavors, they sound amazing.
I definitely will have to do that…every time I go back to the mall I have a feeling I’ll be buying one or two to try!
I’m confused – why would some people be surprised you have never tried one?
I explained it in the post, but basically I’ve been seeing macarons around for the past few years…they’ve become quite popular it seems (at least with a lot of people I know). I have been hearing so much about how awesome they are and how much people love them. And you’d think with all of their popularity I would have enjoyed one at this point. But, I’d never actually run into them until now, so this was my first time trying them!