Paleo Coconut Macaroons Christmas Cookie Recipe - My Natural Family (2024)

FAQs

What is the difference between a macaron and a macaroon? ›

A macaron is a meringue-based sandwich cookie that is tinted with food coloring. A macaroon is a drop cookie made with shredded coconut. The preparation for these two cookies is also very different. Macarons require multiple steps and painstaking precision, while a batch of coconut macaroons is very easy to prepare.

A macaroon (pronounced mac-uh-roon, where roon rhymes with moon) is a cookie that's typically made of shredded coconut stirred into whipped egg whites and sugar - an iteration of meringue that's not as light as a macaron.

Most historians believe that macaroons and coconut macaroons both date back to Italy, likely in the Venice region, before they were transported to other parts of the world.

French macarons are softer with chewy shells and more subtly sweet taste, giving you more of that distinct almond flavour. Whereas Italian macarons are more crisp, even powdery at times and have a more pronounced sweet taste. A trained eye may even be able to tell the difference simply by looking at them.

Macarons are typically more expensive than other baked goods due to their labor-intensive preparation, high-quality ingredients, and delicate nature.

Macaroon is an English derivation of the french word "Macaron". The most popular story of this treat is an American twist of french macaron. Thanks to Indian imports in the 1800s, coconut became a hot item for bakers. It was quickly used to reinvent the original macaron recipe.

Even though you can store your macarons at ambient temperature, storing your macarons in the fridge does keep them fresher.

Proper Scottish Macaroons are a potato fondant, dipped in chocolate and coated in coconut. The potato part is quite random but as potatoes are mostly water (about 80%, according to my fact-checking Google search), they actually make a pretty perfect fondant base, alongside of tonne of icing sugar.

That said, because macaroons are high in sugar and offer little nutrition, eating too many of them regularly could be problematic, especially if they replace more nutritious foods in your diet. If you do decide to try them, track your symptoms closely to determine if they have any effect.

Macaroons stay fresh covered at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Why are macaroons now called macarons? ›

Macarons are the French adaptation of the Italian macaroon, and according to Food Network, they were first created in France after the King's Italian wife brought over a chef from Italy. Therefore they can be traced back to the same origin: that Italian maccarone “cake or biscuit.”

Why do so many people mispronounce the French confection called “macaron” as “macaroon”? Probably because there are two cookies with almost identical names, and very similar ingredients. If you don't speak French, the two words look very similar.

There's bound to be confusion about macaroons vs. macarons when there are two cookies with such similar names, but the truth is macarons (pronounced "mack-ah-ROHN") and macaroons (pronounced "mack-ah-ROON") couldn't be more distinctive looking and tasting.