Macaroons
They are often confused (due to the very similar spelling) with the French Macarons which are entirely different in appearance.
The English word macaroon comes from the French macaron, from the word maccarone, regionally used in Italy to refer to maccherone (kind of pasta, with a hole and a larger diameter than bucatini) - because almond macaroon paste is the same colour as macaroni pasta.
Macaroon cookie biscuits often use egg whites (usually whipped to stiff peaks), with ground or powdered nuts, most commonly coconut but sometimes almond. Almost all recipes call for sugar, which caramelizes and provides body and a smooth, moist texture to the macaroon.
If the coconut or other fabric used is very sweet, however, the sugar may be omitted. Macaroons are commonly baked on edible rice paper placed on a baking tray.
Regional varieties
Scottish
In Scotland: the macaroon bar is a sweet confection, macaroons have a thick velvety centre covered in chocolate and topped with roasted coconut.
Traditionally they were made with cold leftovers of mashed potatoes and sugar loaf. When the macaroon bar became commercial the recipe no longer used mashed potato because of shelf life limitations.
The modern macaroon is made from a combination (depending on producer) of: Sugar, Glucose, Water and Egg White.
Some producers only use commercial fondant with little or no in house processing thus resulting in an inferior product.
The macaroon biscuit, which is the cookie-type macaroon and almost always almond-flavoured bar.
This recipe was reportedly discovered by accident in 1931, when confectioner John Justice Lees was said to have botched the formula for making a chocolate fondant bar and threw coconut over it in disgust, producing the first macaroon bar.
North American
In North America, the coconut macaroon is the best known variety. Commercially made coconut macaroons are generally dense, moist and sweet, and often dipped in chocolate.
Homemade macaroons and varieties produced by smaller bakeries are commonly light and fluffy, as though they were a cross between macaroons, meringues and nougat.
Macaroons made with coconuts are often piped out with a star shaped tip, whereas macaroons made with nuts are more likely shaped individually due to the stiffness of the dough. Because of their lack of wheat ingredients, macaroons are often consumed for Passover in many Jewish homes.
Coconut macaroon
Coconut macaroons
A coconut macaroon is a type of macaroon most commonly found in the United States, although invented in Govan, Glasgow, Scotland.
It is a conventional macaroon with a distinct coconut flavor and containing shredded dried coconut. They tend to be closer to a soft cookie than their meringue cousins, and about as sweet.
Increasingly, coconut macaroons are dipped in chocolate, typically milk chocolate.
Versions dipped in dark chocolate or white chocolate are also becoming more commonly available. Nuts are often added to coconut macaroons, typically almond slivers, but occasionally pecans, cashews or other nuts.
In Australia, a blob of raspberry jam is often concealed in the centre of the macaroon prior to cooking
Spanish
In Asturias, Spain, there is a macaroon variety made with hazelnuts and honey called "carajitos."
Indian
In Tuticorin, a major port city in Tamilnadu, India, there is a macaroon variety made with cashews and egg whites.
Tuticorin is now undeniably the Macaroon capital of India.
Irish
The Macaroon Chocolate Bar is made by Wilton Candy in Co. Its description on the actual bar is "Macaroon pieces in Irish milk chocolate", The ingredients contain milk chocolate, desiccated coconut and vanillin.
It was first made in 1937.
Turkish
Acıbadem kurabiyesi
Acıbadem kurabiyesi is a traditional Turkish cookie made of almonds, sugar and egg whites. The traditional recipes include a small amount of bitter almonds, which gives this cookie its name.
These cookies are part of the stock-in trade of almost every bakery in Turkey, and, they are seldom made at home.
Origins
The first macaroons were almond meringue cookies similar to today’s amaretti, with a crisp crust and a soft interior. The name of the cookie comes from the Italian word for paste, maccarone.
While origins can be murky, some culinary historians claim that that macaroons can be traced to an Italian monastery.
The monks came to France in 1533, joined by the pastry chefs of Catherine de Medici, wife of King Henri II. Later, two Benedictine nuns, Sister Marguerite and Sister Marie-Elisabeth, came to Nancy seeking asylum during the French Revolution.
The two women paid for their housing by baking and selling macaroon cookies, and thus became known as the "Macaroon Sisters." Recipes for macaroons (also spelled "mackaroon," "maccaroon" and "mackaroom") appear in recipe books at least as early as 1725 (Robert Smith's Court Cookery, or the Complete English Cook).
Italian Jews later adopted the cookie because it has no flour or leavening (macaroons are leavened by egg whites) and can be enjoyed during the eight-day observation of Passover. It was introduced to other European Jews and became popular as a year-round sweet. Over time, coconut was added to the ground almonds and, in certain recipes, replaced them.
Potato starch is also sometimes included in the recipe, to give the macaroons more body.
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