Two desserts, one name that keeps causing confusion. At Ladurée, we've been making the French almond macaron for generations, so this is a question we're happy to settle once and for all.
THE KEY DIFFERENCES
BASE INGREDIENT
The macaron is built on ground almonds. The macaroon is built on grated coconut.
STRUCTURE
The macaron is made of two shells joined by a filling. The macaroon is a single mound, with nothing inside.
TEXTURE
The macaron offers a crisp shell around a soft centre. The macaroon is chewy all the way through.
ORIGIN
The macaron was refined in Parisian pâtisseries. The macaroon was popularised largely in the United States.
SIGNATURE DETAIL
The macaron is known for its "pied," the ruffled foot that forms at the base of the shell. The macaroon is known for its golden, slightly craggy surface.
TYPICAL COLOURS
The macaron comes in bright or pastel shades. The macaroon stays a natural beige, sometimes dipped in chocolate.
GLUTEN-FREE
Both are naturally gluten-free, since neither relies on wheat flour.
The French original
WHAT MAKES A MACARON A MACARON
A macaron is really more of an assembly than a single recipe. Two almond meringue shells are baked separately, then brought together around a filling once they've cooled. Most recipes call for a short resting period afterwards, which lets the filling soften the inside of the shells just slightly, so the finished macaron gives you both textures at once: a shell that yields with a light crack, and a centre that's tender to the point of almost melting.
None of this is particularly forgiving. The meringue has to be folded into the almond base with a fairly exact touch, since folding too little leaves the shells prone to cracking in the oven, while folding too much causes them to spread and lose their shape. Oven humidity, resting time, piping consistency: small details, but they all show up in the finished shell, right down to whether that little ruffled foot forms cleanly at the base.
At Ladurée, the double-shelled macaron filled with ganache dates back to the 1930s, when Pierre Desfontaines, Louis-Ernest Ladurée's second cousin and one of the house's pastry chefs, is credited with putting two almond shells together this way for the first time. It's the format most people picture today when they think of a macaron.
A shared root
WHY THE NAMES SOUND SO ALIKE
It isn't a coincidence, and it isn't a translation mistake either. Both words trace back to the Italian maccarone or maccherone, an old term for a fine almond paste that's also an ancestor of the modern French macaron. From there, French kept "macaron" for the almond pastry that Parisian pâtissiers went on to refine over the following centuries. English speakers, meanwhile, started using "macaroon" for a coconut-based cookie that took its own path, particularly in American home baking. Same root, different destinations. By the time each dessert settled into the form we know today, there wasn't much overlap left beyond the name.
Our craft
WHERE LADURÉE COMES IN
Ladurée works only with the French almond macaron: two delicate shells, a carefully balanced filling, and a range of flavours and colours that has grown from timeless classics into seasonal creations over the years. Every batch follows the same principles the house has relied on since it started making macarons this way, from the almond meringue through to the final assembly.
No. A macaron is made from almond flour and consists of two shells joined by a filling. A macaroon is a coconut-based cookie that's denser and chewier, and typically made without any filling.
No. When it comes to macarons, Ladurée focuses solely on the French almond version, across its own range of flavours and colours. Coconut macaroons are not part of the house's creations.
They both come from the Italian word for almond paste, maccarone. French kept the term for the almond pastry, while English later attached "macaroon" to the coconut version.
Generally, yes. A macaron demands precise technique at every stage, from the meringue to the folding to the baking, while a macaroon is a simpler recipe that leaves more room for error.
Are both desserts naturally gluten-free? Yes, in their traditional form. Macarons are made with almond flour, while coconut macaroons are made with shredded coconut, so neither typically contains wheat flour. However, recipes can vary, so it's always best to check the allergen information. For example, some seasonal Ladurée macarons may contain gluten.
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