Le Macaron – Winter Park – Park Avenue

Off of Park Avenue, just north of Morse Blvd, you can walk down an alleyway corridor with a beautiful koi pond and stumble upon, next to Paris Bistro restaurant, a small French confectionary shop called Le Macaron. An offshoot of the original store in Sarasota, the purveyors of this bakery shop are recent French immigrants who take pride in their assortments of chocolates, macarons, and house-made gelatos. The decor reminds me of a small boutique shop, minimalistic and modern. There is some seating available outside.

I first tried macarons at last year’s Share our Strength’s Taste of the Nation charity event. These French confectionaries are small, crispy and airy round shells made from fresh ground almonds and soft meringue. They are like creme filled cookies like a mini whoopie pie, made with fresh ingredients and care, some crunchy some chewy, all delicious.

The macarons come at $1.80 each, a pretty price to pay for the small desserts, but I suppose that’s why the French don’t have as big of a problem with their diets as we do in America where food is often times cheap and in great quantity, while compromising their quality.

The macarons are available in the following flavors:

Belgium Chocolate, Ginger Bread, Sicilian Pistachio, Creme Brulee, Caramel Salted Butter, Candied Ginger Chocolate, Black Vanilla from Madagascar, Lemon, Fresh mint, Raspberry, Passion Fruit Black Chocolate, Basil White Chocolate, Chesnut, Walnut, Crunchy Praline, Black Currant (Cassis), and Colombian coffee.

Time will tell if this is a new trend or a quick fad, but I hope Le Macaron will stay, as macarons have been popular for so many hundreds of years. Open from Monday – Sunday 10AM – 10PM.

Gelatos available at Le Macaron of Winter Park

Chocolate truffles at Le Macaron