French Macarons

The first known appearance of the macaron in Europe was during the Middle Ages. At the time, it was a small sweet made of almonds, egg white and sugar, and was crunchy on the outside and soft inside. Even though the French are often given credit for the macaron, Catherine de’ Medici likely brought the maccherone to France in the 1500s from Italy, where it had been produced in Venetian monasteries since the 8th century. Back then, they were rather humbly called “priests’ bellybuttons” due to the shape of the pastry.
Nevertheless, France is where the confection became popular. The first written macaron recipe appeared in France in the 17th century, with a number of versions emerging since.
In 1792, two Carmelite nuns in Nancy, who became known as the Macaron Sisters, baked and sold the sweets to survive during the French Revolution. In 1952, Nancy honoured the pair by renaming the spot where they produced the macarons after them. Over time, different regions in France adopted the recipe as a local specialty.
Last but not least, the macaron has a special day of the year: 20 March. It was introduced in 2005 by Pierre Hermé, a famous French confectionary house. On Macaron Day, participating macaron shops offer free samples to their customers.