If you are fan of coconut macaroons, The Macaroon Bible by Dan Cohen is a single-subject cookbook dedicated to macaroon cookies and variations.
I know a lot of people aren't a fan of "single subject cookbooks," but I am (to the point where I even own a book called Riz au Lait—Amazon— that is 72 pages dedicated to rice puddings). And I've added The Macaroon Bible (check it out on Amazon) to my collection.
I love macaroons but, to be honest, I'd never baked a single macaroon in my life. I couldn't tell you why that is, but this book was the perfect opportunity to give macaroon baking a try. Try these "stoopid macaroons" from the book.
Note that we are talking about macaroons and not macarons. If you aren't sure about the difference, read about macaroons versus macarons.
I love that The Macaroon Bible explores all forms of macaroons, from golf ball-sized cookies to macaroon sandwich cookies made with a variety of different fillings. And I like to see the flavours of macaroons that can be made from tweaks to the base recipe. If you pay close attention to the ratios and how they are changed along the way, I think this would be a good book to spring off of and into creating your own quirky macaroon flavours.
Macaroons are very "simple" cookies, yet there are several ways of making them. Some recipes include plain egg whites (unwhipped) and sweetened coconuts, while others are made from unsweetened coconut, sugar, and whipped egg whites. Many recipes include sweetened condensed milk.
Dan Cohen's macaroons are made from sweetened coconut, sweetened condensed milk, and egg whites whipped to stiff peaks. The fact that the egg whites are whipped and then folded into the coconut mixture implies that this method is a little more technically challenging than other macaroon recipes: if you "over-fold" the egg whites and the macaroon batter, you will deflate the egg whites. The resulting batter will be more liquid than it should. Your macaroons will be more difficult to scoop.
If this happens, some of the liquid may pool at the base of each cookie, yielding cookies with a larger "footprint". I did this to a batch of bourbon macaroons (which I made with whiskey—pictured above): they still worked out and I really enjoyed them, but they did look a little funny.
Dan Cohen explores so many different flavour combinations and brings the macaroon to a whole other level. I think this book is a lot of fun, and I am quite sure that macaroons are going to play a greater role in my baking roster because of this book. There are crazy flavours (like the "stoopid macaroons" that I will be featuring later this week) and there are seasonal flavours (like eggnog macaroons)
- The photographs and sketches are gorgeous. Honestly, I loved every picture and doodle in this book. The photographs are by Alice Gao
- The Macaroon Bible is a coconut lover's heaven, and most of the recipes are gluten-free
- The ingredients are readily available and the directions are clear. There is even an introductory section going through each step of the base recipe with images
- This book features weights and you all know how much I love weighing my ingredients instead of using cup measures!
Drawbacks of The Macaroon Bible
- The way the ingredients are listed is a little peculiar in that the package amounts/sizes are listed, not the amounts used in the recipe, so in a sense, the ingredients list is more of a shopping list (which could also be considered a bonus). This means you are forced to pay close attention to the recipe method section to know exactly how much of each ingredient you are actually going to use. You have to read the recipe, which is kind of a good thing because a lot of times I screw up recipes because I didn't read through the directions carefully.
- The macaroons are a touch on the sweet side (sweetened condensed milk + sweetened coconut), although this really didn't bother me. I expect macaroons to be sweet coconutty clusters. It might bother others though.
- The method is a little delicate in that you have to know how to fold egg whites without completely liquifying the batter.
- I really wish this book featured metric weights, but that's really not the author's fault per se: this book was published in New York, and in the US, they favour baking with Imperial measurements.
Please note that I was happy to receive this book from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing, but my opinion about this book is still my own.
AnnaZed says
I love the coconut ones (and I know the difference between macroons ans macrons!)
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Stephanie says
I love macaroons, but don't ever make them! It's like Nanaimo bars.. I always want them and then wait for someone else to make them. And like you, I love one subject books that focus on fun techniques and flavors. Curious to check it out
Denise Morse says
i love that they are naturally gluten free! Oh and nothing is better then when they are dipped in chocolate
Janice Lawandi says
Coconut+chocolate=winning!
Anonymous says
I love macaroons and grew up with them and I'm addicted to all things coconut and chocolate....perfect combinations.
SamanthaV
LJ Stubbs says
Yes, this cookbook would be just the thing to kick me into the kitchen to make a macaroon for the first time.
Deb says
Macaroons are a holiday favorite! My mom loved them and we would dip half the batch in melted chocolate!
Janice Lawandi says
Awesome and very smart to only dip half! I was a bit upset when I made my 1st batch because I ended up dipping them all in chocolate, when I had wanted to try some with and some without. I was therefore "forced" to make another batch 😉
Mardi Michels says
Wel you know that I am a HUGE fan of macarOns but have never really explored macaroons. Love the idea of this book!
Janice Lawandi says
Did you ever see that issue of Bon Appetit, where they featured "macaroons" but the article was about "macarons" actually? I think I might write a post on the subject 😉
I think macaroons are easier than macarons, and the recipe is a little more forgiving if you overmix, for example!
justmebrp says
I love, love, macaroons and this blog. Thank you.
Janice Lawandi says
Glad you like it 🙂
seamyst761 says
Omg this book was made for me. Love coconut macaroons. The chocolate dipped ones look delicious.
Janice Lawandi says
They are! I will be sharing that recipe later this week, so if you check back soon, you can make them too 🙂
Adrienne says
I love macaroons! The coconut versions were a staple growing up! Loved your review.