The Other French Macaron

The Rustic Medieval Macaron

Far from the pastel-colored patisserie style cookie from Paris, Macarons de Nancy are rustic in their appeal and if they were pieces of clothing could be compared as homemade vs couture.
Still, these little bites of almond are delightful to the taste bud and considerably - really considerably - easier to make.
And, if you’re a minimalist, you might just like these better.

Just 4 Ingredients

Sugar, ground almonds, egg whites and powdered sugar.
And no finicky-ness to deal with.

These macarons became famous during the French Revolution when a group of nuns taking refuge in a family home paid for their lodging by baking their special cookies and selling them.
Today, the original recipe is guarded and the official sellers of these are the Maison des Soeurs Macarons in Nancy, located in the Lorraine region of France. But they use the same four ingredients I’ve adapted from the somewhat vintage 1989 ‘France, The Beautiful Cookbook.’

Macarons de Nancy Recipe
makes approx 14 cookies

2/3 c superfine sugar (if you can’t find superfine aka ‘caster’ sugar, you can use regular sugar)
1-1/3 cups ground almonds or almond flour
2 egg whites
1 tablespoon powdered sugar

Measure sugar and ground almonds in a medium mixing bowl.
Add egg whites and mix thoroughly with wooden spoon.
Cover the bowl with cling wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up until 8 hours.

Pre-heat oven to 350F or 180C
Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper or baking mat
Using wet hands, make small balls about the size of a walnut and then flatten them to about 1/4” discs
Sprinkle with powdered sugar using a small sifter

Bake for about 15 minutes taking them out of the oven when they just start to brown.
Let cool completely.

Store in air tight container.