Macarons

Despite the fact that macarons came to us from France, there are many legends associated with the history of the origin of macarons. These delicious sweets could be first prepared back in 791 in a monastery located in the city of Nancy in the Lorraine region of northeastern France. The recipe is supposedly preserved in old cookbooks. The Carmelite sisters prepared cakes, referring to the admonition of Teresa of Avila (a Catholic saint), which indicated that almonds are good for girls who do not eat meat. The nuns Marie-Elisabeth and Marguerite invented a new kind of sweets to circumvent the dietary restrictions of the monastery. Then the Carmelites began to bake cookies for sale - then macaroni became incredibly popular. Today, Nancy has a street named after the nuns, as well as the Maison des Soeurs Macarons café. Its owners consider themselves to be true carriers of the original recipe used by the creators of the dessert. According to another version, the delicacy appeared during the Renaissance in Venice. Some time later, cakes became widespread in France thanks to Catherine de Medici, who brought an Italian pastry chef to her wedding with Henry II. From that moment on, the dessert became an integral part of the local cuisine and began to gain rapid popularity in Europe. Serving cookies on the table turned into a real ceremony. At social events, a servant carried a tray of pasta on porcelain saucers. The ladies of the court would take cakes and wash them down with chocolate and liqueurs. The dessert caused such delight that even Marie Antoinette named her cat after these sweets.