Like cupcakes, French macarons developing a sweet following

Macaron, macaroon. Tomato, tomahto?

Not by a long shot.

The French macaron has become increasingly popular across the country, hailed as the next cupcake, the Next Big Thing. And they're available all over Las Vegas these days. But Romain Masliah, manager of Patisserie Manon, 8751 W. Charleston Blvd. -- which has been selling them since it opened in late 2010 -- said that until recently a lot of customers didn't know what a macaron was.

"They thought they were those coconut cookies that you guys carry here," Masliah said.

So, No. 1, no, a macaron is not a chewy coconut cookie. Which brings us to what it is.

"You need to like almond," said Philippe Angibeau, executive pastry chef at Le Cirque and Circo at Bellagio. "Macaron is basically made with almond, split in the middle with a different flavor, a mix of crisp and soft."

Gerard Fabiani, owner of Bonjour Bakery & Deli, 4012 S. Rainbow Blvd., said that although his bakery has been open for seven years, he's been selling macarons for only about the past year and a half, after he read that they were becoming popular in this country.

"It's a big thing right now," Fabiani said. "I always loved macarons. It's a rich flavor but if you really try, you can eat four or five. The sweetness won't disgust you. Cupcakes are made with a buttercream topping and can get you right away. The macaron flavor is a little more delicate."

Masliah noted that macarons have always been popular in France. Part of the appeal, he said, is that they're very colorful and are good to bring to parties or to buy as hostess gifts.

"It's such a good gift to give if you go to dinner or to a friend or you bring back to the office," Fabiani agreed. He said since a lot of people are still in the dark about macarons, customers sometimes are "very pleased to show them, 'Look what I've got.' "

At Patisserie Manon they're $1 each and are available in chocolate, vanilla, pistachio, raspberry, mint-chocolate, chocolate-pistachio, blueberry, peanut butter, coffee, orange, lemon and cherry.

At Bonjour they're $17.50 a dozen and are available in raspberry, strawberry, passion fruit, mango, pistachio, lemon, chocolate, cassis, coconut, almond, espresso and caramel.

Le Cirque serves a dessert of raspberry macaron with rose-infused sorbet and lychee foam.

"It's not as popular as the cupcake, to be sure," Angibeau said of his creation. "But people are starting to know it a little bit.

"People love it. When they try it once, they love."

Here are recipes for making your own macarons.

ESPRESSO-BLACKBERRY MACARONS

For macarons:

3 ounces almond flour (2/3 cup) or blanched sliced almonds (¾ cup) or slivered almonds (2/3 cup)

1½ cups confectioners' sugar

1 tablespoon instant espresso powder

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

3 large egg whites, at room temperature 30 minutes

¼ teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons granulated sugar

For filling:

About ½ cup blackberry jelly

Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper. Grind almond flour or almonds with confectioners' sugar in food processor until powdery, 30 seconds for almond flour, about 2 minutes for almonds. (If using grinder, grind in small batches.) Sift through a medium-mesh sieve into a bowl (if not fine enough for almost all of nuts to go through sieve, regrind). Sift again into a large bowl.

Stir together espresso powder and vanilla in a cup until powder has dissolved.

Beat egg whites with salt in a bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until they just hold soft peaks. Beat in granulated sugar, a little at a time. Increase speed to high and beat until meringue holds stiff, glossy peaks, about 1 minute. Add espresso mixture and mix at low speed until incorporated. Fold meringue into almond mixture with a rubber spatula until completely incorporated. (Meringue will deflate and batter will be loose.)

To pipe and bake macarons, put small dabs of batter under corners of parchment to secure to baking sheets.

Spoon half of batter into pastry bag. Holding bag vertically just above baking sheet, pipe 1½-inch-wide mounds of batter about 1 inch apart, stopping pressure and flicking tip sideways to avoid peaks (tamp down any peaks with a wet finger). Refill pastry bag and repeat. Let macarons stand, uncovered, at room temperature until a light crust forms, 20 to 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 300 degrees, with racks in upper and lower thirds.

Bake macarons, switching position of sheets halfway through, until crisp and interior does not give easily when gently pressed, 22 to 28 minutes total. Cool completely on baking sheets (to harden bottoms) on racks, about 30 minutes. Loosen macarons from parchment with offset spatula (they will be fragile).

To assemble cookies, sandwich the flat sides of the macarons together with a thin layer of jelly.

Layer macarons between sheets of parchment in an airtight container and let stand at room temperature at least 2 hours to soften before eating.

Makes 2½ dozen.

Variations: For Chocolate-Earl Grey Macarons, add 3 tablespoons Dutch-process cocoa powder (preferably Valrhona) to almond flour or almonds when grinding. Omit instant-espresso powder and vanilla. Grind 1 teaspoon Earl Grey tea (from 1 tea bag) to a fine powder in an electric coffee/spice grinder. Sprinkle about ¼ teaspoon (reserve remainder) on macarons before baking. Fill with Chocolate Earl Grey Ganache: Bring ½ cup cream and remaining ¾ teaspoon tea powder to a simmer in a small heavy saucepan. Remove from heat and stir in 3 ounces finely chopped bittersweet chocolate (60 percent to 64 percent cacao if marked) and 1 tablespoon unsalted butter until smooth. Chill, whisking occasionally, until thickened, 20 to 30 minutes. Transfer to a sealable bag. Snip off a corner and pipe to fill macarons. (There will be ganache left over.)

For grapefruit macarons, add 2 teaspoons grated grapefruit zest to almond flour or almonds when grinding. Omit instant-espresso powder and vanilla. Beat 6 drops red food coloring into meringue and fill cookies with grapefruit marmalade.

For pistachio-cardamom macarons substitute 1/3 cup unsalted shelled pistachios plus ½ teaspoon ground cardamom for half of the almond flour or almonds when grinding. Omit instant-espresso powder and vanilla. Beat 4 drops green and 3 drops yellow food coloring into meringue. Fill with apricot jam.

-- Recipe from Gourmet magazine

FRENCH MACARONS WITH

RASPBERRY-ROSE BUTTERCREAM

Cookies:

2 cups powdered sugar

1 cup (lightly packed) sifted almond flour, or ¾ cup sifted almond flour and ¼ cup sifted hazelnut flour (sifted, then measured; any coarse particles reserved for another use)

½ cup (scant) egg whites (from about 3 large eggs)

2 tablespoons plus ½ teaspoon sugar

Salt

Filling:

4 cups frozen raspberries (about 15 ounces; do not thaw)

1 cup plus 6 tablespoons sugar, divided

¼ cup egg whites (from about 2 large eggs), room temperature

10 tablespoons (1¼ sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces, room temperature

¼ teaspoon (generous) rose water

Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment. Sift powdered sugar, almond flour and hazelnut flour (if using) into large bowl. Using electric mixer, beat egg whites, sugar and pinch of salt in medium bowl until medium peaks form. Add egg white mixture to almond mixture; fold to incorporate.

Working in 2 batches, fill pastry bag fitted with ¼-inch-diameter plain pastry tip with batter (batter will be thin and will drip from bag). Pipe batter in 1¼-inch rounds on baking sheets, spacing 1 inch apart (cookies will spread slightly). Let rest on sheets at room temperature 20 minutes.

Position one rack in top third and one rack in bottom third of oven; preheat to 375 degrees. Bake cookies 5 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees. Continue to bake cookies until puffed and golden on top, about 10 minutes, reversing sheets after 5 minutes. Cool cookies on sheets on rack. Carefully peel cookies from parchment. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Store in airtight container at room temperature.)

For filling, bring raspberries and 1 cup sugar to boil in large saucepan over high heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Cook until berries are soft, juices thicken and mixture measures about 1½ cups, stirring frequently, 7 to 9 minutes. Measure ½ cup mixture; strain into small bowl. Cool strained jam and jam with seeds separately. (Can be made 1 week ahead. Cover jams separately and chill.)

Combine egg whites, 6 tablespoons sugar and ¼ teaspoon salt in bowl of heavy-duty stand mixer. Set bowl over large saucepan of simmering water. Heat until candy thermometer inserted into mixture registers 140 degrees, stirring often, 3 to 4 minutes. Using whisk attachment, beat egg white mixture at high speed until stiff meringue forms and mixture is at room temperature, 5 to 6 minutes. With mixer running, add butter, 1 piece at a time, beating until each piece is incorporated before adding next. Beat in rose water. Add 3 tablespoons seedless jam, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating to blend well after each addition. (If buttercream looks broken or curdled, place bowl over medium heat and whisk 5 to 10 seconds to warm slightly, then remove from heat and beat again on medium speed. Repeat warming and beating as many times as needed until buttercream is smooth.)

Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment. Using ½ teaspoon jam with seeds for each, spread jam over flat side of half of macaroons. Spoon buttercream into pastry bag fitted with ¼-inch plain tip. Starting at outer edge of flat sides of remaining macaroons, pipe buttercream over in spiral. Gently press macaroons, jam-filled side down, onto buttercream-coated macaroons. Place on sheet. Cover; chill overnight. (Can be made 2 to 3 days ahead. Store in airtight container in refrigerator. Let stand at room temperature 30 minutes before serving.)

Note: Almond flour (sometimes labeled "ground almonds") and hazelnut flour can be found at specialty foods stores and natural foods stores. Look for rose water at supermarkets, specialty foods stores and Middle Eastern markets.

Makes about 3 dozen.

-- Recipe from Bon Appetit

PARISIAN MACARONS

1¼ cups plus 1 teaspoon confectioners' sugar

1 cup (4 ounces) finely ground sliced, blanched almonds

6 tablespoons fresh egg whites (from about 3 extra-large eggs)

Pinch of salt

¼ cup granulated sugar

For filling:

3 large egg whites

1 cup sugar

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into pieces

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together confectioners' sugar and ground almonds. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip egg whites with salt on medium speed until foamy. Increase speed to high and gradually add granulated sugar. Continue to whip until stiff glossy peaks form. With a rubber spatula, gently fold in the confectioners' sugar mixture until completely incorporated.

Line baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside. Fit a pastry bag with a 3/8-inch No. 4 round tip and fill with batter. Pipe 1-inch disks onto prepared baking sheets, leaving 2 inches between cookies (the batter will spread a little). Let stand at room temperature until dry, a soft skin forms on the tops of the macarons and the shiny surface turns dull, about 15 minutes.

Bake, with the door of the oven slightly ajar, until the surface of the macarons is completely dry, about 15 minutes. Remove baking sheet to a wire rack and let the macarons cool completely on the baking sheet. Gently peel off the parchment. (The tops are easily crushed, so take care when removing the macarons from the parchment.) Use immediately or store in an airtight container, refrigerated for as long as 2 days or frozen for as long as 1 month.

To make the filling, whisk egg whites and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer. Set mixer bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and heat mixture, whisking often, until it feels warm to the touch and sugar is dissolved, 3 to 5 minutes.

Transfer bowl to the mixer and fit with the whisk attachment. Whip on high speed until mixture is stiff and shiny, 3 to 5 minutes. Add butter, one piece at a time, and continue mixing until butter is thoroughly incorporated. (The filling can be kept, covered and refrigerated, as long as 1 week. Bring to room temperature before stirring.)

To fill the macarons, fill a pastry bag with the filling. Turn macarons so their flat bottoms face up. On half of them, pipe about 1 teaspoon filling. Sandwich these with the remaining macarons, flat-side down, pressing slightly to spread the filling to the edges. Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.

Makes about 16 (and 3 cups filling).

-- Recipe from Martha Stewart Omnimedia

Contact reporter Heidi Knapp Rinella at
hrinella@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0474.