Macaron Madness

Have we OD'ed on the simple yet elegant macaron? The answer could be yes. Yet despite their now commonplace stature they still maintain  an air of luxury. Buy the true French ones and you can still taste the complex yet surprisingly basic taste of almonds and sugar/

They were the subject of Elaine Sciolino's Letters From Paris column in yesterday's New York Times Dining section.Macarons are  as common to the French as croissants, in fact too common that they're not the big deal anymore. Ms. Sciolino has discovered that Parisians like the creamier and more heartier eclair better/Also profiteroles are also hot right now according to the trendy Madame Figaro magazine. e this has something to do with the French McDonald's serving them up with their cafes or possibly we have Sofia Coppola  popularizing them  as uber hip in her movie :"Marie Antoinette" a few years ago.

Still a good macaron is just that. The original recipes was made by two Benedictine nuns in  postrevolutionary France. Thanks to the new government banning religious orders, they took refuge with a local doctor and made a living baking macarons. The company House of the Macaron Sisters or Maison des Soeurs Macarons  guards the original recipe, ensuring the most purest of macarons. This is a simple almond instead of it being infused with today's trendy flavors of saffron, anise, strawberry and anything else .Smaller french bakeries also keep to the original recipe  as well. Ms Sciolino also give the recipe. You do need good cool weather (never make them on a hot humid day) as well as precision to create perfect little rounds, Baking time is only fifteen to twenty minutes.

Is macaron madness over? for those trendy pastel colored ones yes. However the true, pale creamy colored ones are here to stay - as they have been for over two hundred years