The original Lorraine macaron: a single small almond-meringue cookie, crisp-shelled and tender-centered, with no filling — the rustic ancestor of the Parisian double-decker macaron. Created in 1793 by two Benedictine nuns in Nancy, who became known as the Soeurs Macarons.
Macaron de Nancy is the Lorraine form of the macaron, a single small almond-meringue cookie with no filling — the rustic ancestor of the Parisian double-decker macaron. Wikipedia documents that the recipe was created in 1793 by two Benedictine nuns, Sisters Marguerite Gaillot and Marie-Elisabeth Morlot, who had been expelled from the Dames du Saint-Sacrement monastery in Nancy during the French Revolution. The two nuns, who became known as the Soeurs Macarons, supported themselves by making and selling the cookies; the city of Nancy honored them with a plaque in 1952. The Maison des Soeurs Macarons in Nancy continues to make them to the original secret recipe.
A macaron de Nancy is a small, single cookie — golden-brown at the edges, the surface cracked in the characteristic pattern, the interior chewy and almond-scented. There is no filling; the cookie is complete in itself, a contrast of crisp shell and tender center. Eaten with coffee or tea, it is the rustic Lorraine cousin of the polished Parisian macaron.
Macaron de Nancy rests on a simple almond meringue. Egg whites are whipped with sugar; ground almonds are folded in. The batter is piped into small rounds and baked; the egg-white protein denatures during whipping to trap air, then coagulates in the oven to set the cookie's shape. The almond oil keeps the interior moist and tender while the surface dries and crisps. The characteristic cracked surface — the crottin — forms as the surface sets before the interior, and the steam escaping from within forces fissures through the crust. Unlike the Parisian macaron, which is prized for its smooth, domed shell and ruffled foot, the Nancy macaron embraces its rustic, cracked appearance.
Variations
The original recipe remains a guarded secret of the Maison des Soeurs Macarons; the basic composition — almonds, egg whites, sugar — is the constant.
On the Palate
Where Macaron de Nancy sits in the French flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 20How it's made
6 steps · 30 min
- 110 min
Whip egg whites with sugar to soft peaks.
Watch outWhip the whites with sugar only to soft peaks — over-whipped, the meringue stiffens and the macarons bake dry and cracked-hard instead of tender.
- 25 min
Fold in finely ground almonds to a smooth paste.
- 310 min
Pipe small rounds onto a lined tray; rest briefly.
- 420 min
Bake in a moderate oven until golden at the edges and set.
Watch outBake just until golden at the edges and set — the cracked crottin top is right, but a minute too long dries the moist almond interior out.
- 55 min
Cool on the tray briefly, then on a rack.
- 65 min
Eat plain, with coffee or tea.
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