Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Food & Drink

The Manual may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site.

Macarons and macaroons are not the same — It’s time to learn the difference

Macaron vs. macaroon: These two distinctly different cookies share nothing but an annoyingly similar name

Lindsay Parrill
By

Chances are good that you’ve been under the false impression that macaroons and macarons are two different spellings and pronunciations of the same cookie. We’re sorry to tell you, but you’ve been misinformed. Pronounced, respectively, “mack-ah-ROON” and “mack-ah-ROHN”, these two treats are really quite different.

Macaron vs. macaroons

Macaroons, sometimes called coconut macaroons due to all the confusion, are a moist and sweet, chewy, coconutty dream, closely resembling an Almond Joy candy bar. Sweetened coconut flakes are held together with a whipped egg white and sugar mixture, and the result is heavenly. They’re often either dipped in or drizzled with chocolate to finish and keep their freshness beautifully, making for wonderful favors or gifts.

Related Videos

Macarons are the colorful little cuties that have taken the world by storm in the last decade or so. The macaron’s signature style is its classic meringue outer cookies, sandwiched together by a buttercream or jam filling. The meringue cookies are made from whipped egg whites and sugar that are then piped into small rounds and baked. Once set, they are filled and gleefully devoured.

Both of these delicacies are decadent little wonders, and both should be enjoyed and respected equally. So let us not pit these two treats against each other, macaron vs. macaroon, but rather embrace their differences and enjoy each as the delicately delicious little cookies they are.

Coconut macaroon recipe

Preppy Kitchen

This deliciously classic version of the macaroon is made with sweetened condensed milk and then dipped in chocolate. Traditional macaroons can be either chocolate dipped or plain, but when you have the option to add chocolate — why wouldn’t you?

Macaroon tips and tricks

  • Macaroons are naturally gluten-free, so have no fear of whipping up a big batch for a crowd of diverse eaters.
  • Be sure to use sweetened coconut flakes instead of unsweetened. These two varieties are texturally different, and unsweetened flakes will cause the macaroons to fall apart.
  • Folding egg whites is instructed in this recipe. When folding egg whites, do so very gently. The goal is to keep as much of the air inside as possible. The more air that escapes, the less light and fluffy your cookies will be.

French macarons with vanilla buttercream filling recipe

Ahead of Thyme

These trendy little treats come in almost every flavor imaginable these days. The possibilities of both taste and color combinations are immense, but this classic recipe is a timeless favorite.

Macaron tips and tricks

  • Macarons are also gluten-free as they contain almond flour and not all-purpose flour.
  • All-purpose flour cannot be substituted for almond flour in this recipe. Macaroons are delicate little cookies, and the structural differences in all-purpose flour would cause issues in both taste and texture.
  • Feel free to get colorful and add gel food coloring to your meringue batter. Gel is best for meringue as it will not affect the texture.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Want incredible sushi in NYC? Go to this speakeasy (really!)
The Office of Mr. Moto in the East Village is more than meets the eye.
Office of Mr. Moto sushi entrance.

The entrance to The Office of Mr. Moto. Victorian-era mailbox with a PIN pad inside.

There's no shortage of sushi restaurants in NYC, but at the Big Apple's newest sushi omakase, entering the establishment requires a bit of intrigue. The Office of Mr. Moto isn't your standard sushi omakase — it's a speakeasy. The door to the restaurant is unmarked, and one could easily walk past without realizing it. To even enter the restaurant requires not only a reservation but also some detective work. First, prospective diners must solve a cipher in a letter (sent by email) before entering that code on a PIN pad at the Victoria-era mailbox at the entrance.

Read more
Is erythritol harmful? What a dietitian says new data means for your Keto diet
Erythritol is common in many keto foods - what does that mean for your health?
erythritol in keto diet advice

While sugar substitutes have been around for more than a century, they didn't really become mainstream here in the United States until around the mid-70s. According to Carolyn De La Pena, professor of American Studies at UC Davis and author of Empty Pleasures: The Story of Artificial Sweeteners from Saccharin to Splenda, between 1975 and 1984, Americans increased their consumption of artificial sweeteners by 150 percent. This timeline makes sense when you take into account that the late seventies coincided with the start of our crazed diet culture and the revolving door of fad diets.
One such diet that doesn't seem to be going anywhere, however, is the Keto diet. Still hugely popular among Americans trying to shed a few pounds, Keto focuses heavily on limited or no carbohydrates. Because sugar contains carbohydrates, followers of Keto have turned to artificial sweeteners to satisfy those late-night cravings - sweeteners that, more often than not, contain erythritol. Erythritol in particular has become hugely popular because it's much better for baking than other sugar substitutes, has less of an artificial flavor, and will keep the eater in Ketosis, which is key for losing weight on the Keto diet.
A new study has made waves recently because its findings indicate there's a link between erythritol and higher rates of heart attack and stroke (though the study did note that only an association was found — not causation. So should you be worried?
We asked Dan LeMoine, RD, the award-winning author of Fear No Food and the Clinical Director at Phoenix-based Re:vitalize Nutrition, what he had to say about erythritol, including its benefits and potential health risks. "Artificial sweeteners are still sweeteners. While many are non-nutritive or zero-calorie, we tend to view them similarly as we do regular sweeteners or sugars — moderation is key. While many have amazing implications on weight loss – being low to no-calorie options and having little impact on blood sugar, some have their downside," he says.

While some of that sugar substitution has been good for waistlines and health issues that come from obesity, it seems to be causing more and more concern when it comes to other potential health issues. "For example," says LeMoine, "some research indicates the popular sweeteners stevia may have negative effects on the gut microbiome. And the recent study showing correlation between the sugar alcohol, erythritol, and heart attack and stroke."

Read more
Feeling adventurous? 5 of the weirdest cocktails from around the globe
Would you order a cocktail with a pickled human toe? You can in Canada, apparently
unusual and unique cocktails sourtoe cocktail

We all love a good cocktail, but it's easy to tire of the classics. There's nothing wrong with a perfectly frosty, salted-rimmed margarita, or a warm-to-your-bones, cherry-topped old-fashioned, but sometimes, you just want something new. Something that makes you think. Something that, perhaps, gives you a chuckle. These are those cocktails.
Pig's Blood Piña Colada (USA)

Back in 2014, bartender Jason Brown of Chicago's Kinmont restaurant and bar, concocted this cocktail after listening to a Werewolves of London lyric about a werewolf drinking a pina colada. His creativity sparked, and the "Werewolves of London" cocktail was born.

Read more