Jour du Macaron

Well today the country of France celebrates Jour du Macaron!  This delightful sweet is one of my favorite indulgances.  Why not celebrate right here in Birmingham I say!  Yesterday I made a special trip to Continental Bakery in English Village to photograph a plate full just for the occasion.

If you are thinking those coconut cookies Grandma use to make - think again.  These delicate confections  are made with almond powder, eggwhites, and sugar and sandwiched in between is most often a flavored buttercream filling. In France you can buy them in dozens of flavors and colors. Oh la la!  To read more about macarons click here.

You Say Macaroon, I Say Macaron

My faithful Paris Through My Lens readers, are pretty obsessive about the divine, the delicately scrumptious French macaron. Wikipedia states that the words macaron and macaroon are interchangeable, but don't mistake these for the coconut macaroon that we find here in the U.S. Confusing isn't it! Well here in Birmingham there's no Gerard Mulot or Ladurée so what's a girl to do when she just has to have one? Luckily Continental Bakery in English Village usually offers three flavors, and I snapped this photo just before I enjoyed mine.

BTW, I'm so pleased that my dear blog friend and artiste Shell Sherree down under in Brisbane, has immortalized my photo of the Gerard Mulot macarons in a delightful watercolor illustration here!

P.S. It's macaron day at Ladurée on Paris Through My Lens today as well!