MACARONS

History and Evolution of the Macaron
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The modern day macs that you see in shops and made famous by producers such as Laduree or Pierre Herme, are what are known as 'le macaron Parisien' and represent the almond meringue shells sandwich together with buttercream or ganache. 
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The origins of macarons can be traced back to Arab explorers bringing various nut-based recipes in to Europe in medieval times and the development of almond-paste tarts called marzapane and caliscioni. At that time, pasta was a becoming a staple of the diet in Italy, and especially Sicily, resulting in foods that combined characteristics of this and the almond-based delicacies, resulting in the word maccarruni (precursor to the modern words macaroni, macaroon and macaron). 
 
As the centuries passed, the almond delicacies spread further across Europe, and in 1582 the word macaron appears in various French texts of the day, and as macaroon in English. During this time, the Arab-influenced ingredients originally used, such as rose water and musk, were replaced with more European ingredients. The most famous French chef responsible for this change was Francois Pierre de la Varenne, and the macaron or macaroon came to represent a small round biscuit, crunchy on the outside soft in the middle, made with ground almonds, sugar and egg whites.
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Many regions of France contributed to the evolution of this more European style of macaron, such as Nancy (where two nuns, the 'Macaron Sisters', are credited with creating the macaron there), Amiens (macaron d'Amiens), Montmorillon, and Cormery to name a few. 
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It was during the late 19th century in America that a fad for using exotic coconut imported from India developed, and recipes for coconut macaroons started to appear, especially in Jewish cookery books. In these recipes the almond paste is replaced by coconut and soon their popularity spread as Passover treats across America. It was during the 1930s in France that the concept of sandwiching the two almond cookies together developed, with two Parisian bakers, Claude Gerbet and Pierre Desfontaines, both claiming credit. Pierre's grandfather happened to own a tea shop....his name was Louis-Ernest Ladurée.