MacaRONS versus MacaROONS First, let’s establish that I am referring the famous Parisian macaron that, in recent years, has become trendy on this side of the big pond: the colorful meringue-based cookie that forms a sandwich around ganache, buttercream, or jam filling. The other cookie, the macaroon, is an American creation: the dense, thick single cookie made with coconut. Macaroons are delicious but they are no macarons. There is some confusion here because the English translation of “macaron” is “macaroon.” Most French words that end in “-on” become “-oon” in the English language. Think balloon (French: ballon) and festoon (French: feston). By the 1500s, the macaron—which is not the macaron we know today—had emerged as a dessert in Italy, Spain, France and England. It was called “macaroon” in England. At that time, it referred to a (single-layer) cookie made with almonds and egg whites as well as rose water and spices and herbs today’s cook would consider exotic. Interestingly, this cookie probably had its start in Sicily but its origin has been traced back to an Arab sweet made of almonds that was popular in the 9th century in what is now Tunisia. The earliest recipe for this cookie was [...]