If you've ever typed "macaroon recipe" into Google and gotten a photo of a delicate, colorful, sandwich-style cookie, you've run into one of the most common mix-ups in the dessert world. Macarons and macaroons are not the same thing. They don't even share the same core ingredient. Here's the actual difference, straight from the team making French macarons fresh, in-house, at our Bellevue cafe.

The Short Answer
A French macaron is a light, almond-flour-based sandwich cookie with a smooth, domed shell and a filling like ganache, buttercream, or jam. A macaroon is a denser, chewier cookie made from shredded coconut, often dipped in chocolate. Same-ish name, completely different cookie.

Why the Names Get Confused
Both words trace back to the Italian "maccherone." Macaron is pronounced "mac-a-ROHN," macaroon is "mac-a-ROON," close enough in a noisy bakery, or a fast Google search, that the mix-up sticks around, even on some grocery store labels.

What Makes a French Macaron

• Made from almond flour, egg whites, and sugar
• Piped and rested before baking to form a smooth "skin"
• Baked into two domed shells with a signature ruffled edge (the "feet")
• Sandwiched with a filling: ganache, buttercream, curd, or jam
• Delicate, faintly crisp shell with a soft, chewy center

What Makes a Macaroon

• Made from shredded coconut, egg whites, and sugar
• Mounded and baked as a single piece, with no shell and no sandwich
• Dense, chewy texture all the way through
• Often dipped or drizzled in chocolate

Who We Are: Macadons in Bellevue
Macadons started in 2014 as a handmade gift between friends and has grown into a bakery that now makes more than 10,000 macarons a week. Our Bellevue cafe is located inside Lexus of Bellevue at 101 116th Ave SE, genuinely one of the more unusual spots to find a French bakery on the Eastside, and part of what makes stopping in worth the detour.

We make one thing, and we make it well: French macarons, in flavors ranging from classic vanilla bean to Fruity Pebbles and Cap'n Crunch Berry. We're also the only bakery in the area doing live, on-site custom logo and photo printing directly onto the macaron shell, a favorite for Bellevue-area corporate events, client gifts, and celebrations.

Visit Macadons in Bellevue
Macadons Cafe Bellevue, Inside Lexus of Bellevue
101 116th Ave SE, Bellevue, WA 98004
Monday to Saturday: 7am to 5pm | Sunday: Closed
Get directions, or see all Macadons locations, on our Find Us page.

Craving the real thing? Stop by our Bellevue cafe, or shop our macaron flavors online.