Macarons/ECDC

Is it “macaron” or “macaroon?” You, like I, have probably been a bit disoriented by which confection is which. Same thing? Completely different? Same origin, different path? Both delicious?

Describing the development of the macaron — and the macaroon — takes up some concentrated Wikipedia reading, so consult the prior hyperlinks to gain a full understanding. When done, you’ll want to try one of these — particularly the macaron. You’ll want to go to ECDC in downtown Eau Claire to do so.

My wife and I are huge ECDC fans — her especially. Oftentimes we’ve spent several hours on a Saturday afternoon in the seating area, taking in the ambience. As we would place our orders, we’d spot the rainbow of macarons in the display case. How does a dessert get so colorful? Do these colors signify taste?

Absolutely…though perhaps not the way you might expect. Of the above macarons, you might have suspected — this post coming in October — that the orange one has something to do with pumpkins. Correct: Caramel Pecan Pumpkin Pie. You may think the pinkish-green one is either pistachio or fruit-based. The latter is correct: Key Lime Blood Orange. The blue one? If not blueberry, then what? Did you guess Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough? ‘Cos that’s it.

The filling is what really drives home the flavor description (very much in the case of the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough macaron). However, the cookie does have elements of the included flavors — which means the blue cookie works for that version.

Additionally, these cookies are *soft*. That way, you don’t need to worry about biting down and squishing-out too much of the filling (sure, some comes out, but it is quite viscous, so you won’t have a mess). I ordered an Americano (no adds), and found the Caramel Pecan Pumpkin Pie and Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough to pair really, really well. A flavor bomb.

Look, you can’t go wrong with macarons or macaroons. You really can’t go wrong with the ECDC macarons. You’ll be drawn to the spectrum on the top shelf at the ordering counter, and you will want a few. Order them with a beverage, then take your post-savoring time to look at those Wikipedia histories on the great macaron/macaroon divergence. It will be a tasty history lesson.