Macaroons or Macarons?

"I saved you two macarons," my friend said when I called round.
"They came from Harrods."
"Ooh, lovely," I said.
"I had to eat them," she said, "You went off to England."
"I saved you the paper though," she said!

So I drooled over the piece of paper and thought about what might have been.

In Paris, the Laduree chain of pastry shops is famous for its macarons.

Then, last week, when I was in Sainsbury's I saw a macaroon kit.  

It got me thinking of the macaroons my mum used to make - they were almond with a cherry on the top - and the most exciting bit was eating the rice paper they were baked on.

I bought the kit.  As well as the kit I used two egg whites, 50gm butter and one tbsp milk.

I beat two egg whites until stiff then folded in the macaroon mix.

There was a paper piping bag supplied. It was all quite easy.

Put them into a cold oven then turn it up to 50C and leave 20 mins, then turn the oven up to 150C  and bake for another 15 mins.

When is a macaroon a macaron, and when did they get posh?

Here they are in the oven after the warming. 

And here they are after the baking.

Then I beat 50gm of butter and one tbsp milk with the icing mix.

                                               Sandwich them together. Then refrigerate .

Well, pleased to say they looked like the picture on the box.

             The macarons I've made are raspberry flavoured but look at the choice from Laduree.

Tonight's dessert.

I think my Sainsbury's kit is a macaron - not a macaroon as labelled.
Whatever!  They were really nice.