The Motherland of Macaroons: Ladurree

During our trip to visit Carmen and Jamie in Singapore, we found a macaroon shop and fell in love with the delicate French version of Oreos. Naturally, when we went to the motherland of macaroons, we had to get some authentic macaroons. Kyle’s Auntie Julie and CY told us their favorite shop in Paris is Laduree, which was echoed by my Auntie Charlotte, who conducted a scientific study with my cousin Kelsey, trying to uncover the best macaroons in Paris. Their findings concluded with statistical significance that Laduree was the best.

According to CY, Laduree does not allow photos to be taken of their masterful pieces of edible artwork. I tried to be stealth like in getting these photos for your viewing pleasure.

In addition to the smuggled photos, we also had to escape a near mob-scene that was gathering on the Champs-Elysees that day for a “Triopical Parade.” Thousands of people were swarming the street, watching as groups of Jamaican and other island groups danced in the parade.

My taste buds were doing their own little dance as I chomped on those sweet little pillows of heaven. Laduree’s macaroons are unlike anything in the U.S. or Singapore. They are light and moist, almost wet, when they are fresh. The filling is also incredible—it practically bursts in your mouth as you bite in, and the fruit flavors taste as though they picked the berries that morning and slapped them into the cookies.

My aunt said that you cannot eat the macaroon if it is more than one day old because it will harden with time. I can attest that unless you have a very refined macaroon pallet like my aunt, you can stretch these puppies out for up to a week. Although she is correct that they begin to harden after the first day, they still retain their amazing flavor and are far superior to what you can get in the U.S. This makes it worth the effort of schlepping a box home and savoring bite after bite as you nurse your jetlag and vacation withdrawals away.

We schlepped a box all the way to our cruise, so Kyle’s parents and aunt could enjoy these beauties, too. It was quite the treat to savor as we sailed through the gorgeous Mediterranean.

If you want to bring home the freshest of the fresh, Laduree has a couple shops at the Charles de Gaulle airport, so you can pick up a box on your way out of the country to savor back in the macaroonless States.

We of course had to get a couple more boxes on our layover in Paris as we made our way back home.

Everything tastes good with champagne, but I must say a Laduree macaroon is pretty tasty with a glass of bubbly.

Happy Eating,

Emi