At least three spots in the Sacramento area are serving French-style macarons – the dainty cookies elegant enough for a soirée but tasty enough for an anytime-you-need-a-pick-me-up treat.
We tried the chocolate versions at Ginger Elizabeth Chocolates, Hawks restaurant and Le Petit Paris to see which one we liked best, and the results came back too close to call. Our Bee tasters just couldn't agree on a clear favorite.
You'll have to decide for yourself. But here are our results (with 5 as the highest rating).
Ginger Elizabeth Chocolates
1801 L St., Suite 60, Sacramento; (916) 706-1738
The macarons at Ginger Elizabeth are baked fresh daily, with three to four flavors available each day. Chocolate and almond are everyday staples, but owner Ginger Hahn also gets creative with fresh seasonal flavors such as Meyer lemon and Bing cherry.
The macarons here aren't the classic multicolored treats; Hahn has an aversion to preservatives and food coloring. And except for the chocolate variety, the cookies are the classic almond, with the flavor all in the filling.
Flavors: Chocolate, almond, caramel, passionfruit, pistachio, hazelnut, and seasonal flavors such as strawberry and apricot.
Cost: $1.50 each; the mid-town boutique also is offering a summer special of 4-inch macaron ice cream sandwiches for $5.50 each.
Rating: 3.4
Tasters' take: The chocolate macaron at Ginger Elizabeth is chewy and flaky all at once. Cocoa is added to the biscuits to give them a matte brown color, and the ganache offers a complex chocolate flavor.
Hawks
5530 Douglas Blvd., Granite Bay; (916) 791-6200
Although pastry chef Melissa Cherry has never been to Paris, and she started making macarons within the last few months, she has been a dutiful student. Cherry first made the French specialty for a special event, then added it to Hawks' special-order picnic baskets. Now, the dessert is also on the restaurant's lunch menu.
The Hawks version is a little larger than the typical macaron – about 2 inches in diameter – and is reminiscent of a chewy brownie.
Flavor: Chocolate.
Cost: $2 each; call ahead to order large quantities.
Rating: 3.5
Tasters' take: These large macarons made the tasters remember the moon pies of their youths. The rich chocolate makes the treats the sweetest and richest of the bunch, and they go nicely with a glass of milk or port wine.
Le Petit Paris
1221 19th St., Sacramento; (916) 446-3639
When the French boutique Le Petit Paris recently expanded with a café, owner Tassina Placencia knew there was one offering she couldn't do without: French-style macarons. She enlisted a friend, Mark Wagner, to bake the colorful creations, using examples from the original Paris bakery, Ladurée, as a guide.
The result is an offering of about a dozen flavors, with a penchant for florals such as rose and lavender.
Flavors: Chocolate, lavender, violet, rose, lemon, orange, fig, black currant, green tea, pistachio, vanilla, espresso.
Cost: $1.50 each
Rating: 3.2
Tasters' take: These macarons have a chocolate flavor that may be a distant cousin of Nutella. Flaky and chewy at once, they may be the closest to the traditional cookies found in France.
The Bee's tasters: Andy Alfaro, Mike Dunne, Leigh Grogan, Lisa Heyamoto, Cynthia Hubert, Gina Kim, Kevin McKenna, Carla Meyer, Dan Nguyen and Dan Vierria
