The weather is getting a little warmer than the past days and the snow is melting which did not prevent me from going shopping today for warm clothes since I realized that my suitcase is filled with summery clothes. Eh oui, c’est l’hiver! During this cold weather, my mom bakes, since visitors keep dropping by my parents house to chit chat, and sweets are always welcome.

Another one of my mom’s favorites…those small coconut macarons. They’re very small, about 1.5 inch wide so you can put a few in your mouth at once and still have room. Bouche means mouth so bouchées refers to something that fits in your mouth.

I have always loved macarons growing up, and many boulangeries (bakeries) still sell them here. What we call macarons in this region of France is not the traditional macarons that look like round little sandwiches filled with cream, like the Parisian macaron you can find in Paris at Ladurée that come in different flavors.

Nancy’s Macaron is a round shaped cookie made out of coconut or almond. Macarons in Nancy is a specialty and sold in many specialty stores, you can find them in some other regions of France as well and but with a different recipe and therefore texture. Macaron de Nancy is a specialty from this town, and was created in 1793 by two Benedictine nuns also called “Soeurs macaron” Sisters macaron. The recipe of the macaron was kept secret and transmitted throughout the centuries, there is still a street in Nancy called Rue des Soeurs Macarons, Macaron Sister Street.

Knowing how much Catherine of Medici brought from Italy to France, we can also assume that Macaron was brought to France from Italy since its name macaron derives from Maccarone, but its origin is still controverted.

This recipe is quick and easy to make requiring just a few ingredients. So if you love coconut as much as I do, you’ll love those little mini macarons, that go perfectly well with sweet dessert wine or champagne.

Ingredients for 24 bites

• 1 tbs flour
• 3.52 oz (or 100 g) sugar
• 5.30 oz (or 150 g) coconut flakes
• 2 eggs
• 1 tbs quince jam

Preparation

In a mixing bowl, mix flour, sugar and coconut. Add aggs to the mixture and stir until you obtain a smooth paste. Add quince jam, and stir. Fill in your mini silicon molds, or other individual mini molds. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 360F until the macarons have turned golden brown. Let them cool and remove from molds