Macarons are sweet treats made of a meringue-based confection crafted from icing sugar, egg whites, almond meal, food coloring, and granulated sugar. They were originally confections made for royalty on special occasions but are now treats that can be enjoyed by anyone at any time of the year.

If you feel that you need a special occasion to make one of these little cookies, then allow us to present you with a holiday that gives you all the permission you need. This holiday is observed on March 20th and is aptly known as National Macaron Day.

The History of National Macaron Day

Macarons are treats that go back a long, long time. They can be traced back over 1,300 years to Italian monasteries in Italy. They were originally eaten by monks and priests, and because they didn’t have a leavening agent, were also eaten by Jewish people during Passover.

Eventually, they made their way to France during the 15th century, and that is when they began to evolve into the form people enjoy today. Although they were evolving during this time, they still didn’t have the look of modern macarons.

That wouldn’t happen until the 1930s in France when they began to be put together with a filling between them. This essentially made them sandwich cookies that were available in a variety of pastel colors and flavors. They have continued in this form ever since. In 2010, Chef François Payard created the first National Macaron Day in New York City.

From this point on, macarons began to steadily rise in popularity in the United States. And their popularity seems to grow each and every year. Now everyone wants to enjoy these sweet treats and celebrate this sweet holiday.

Observing National Macaron Day

Although we don’t recommend anyone with only basic baking skills try to make their own macarons, we do think that it can be a good challenge for intermediate bakers who want to make them. There’s nothing finer than making your own macarons to share with friends and family members. It just requires a bit of skill to pull off a correctly made macaron.

For those people who would rather buy their macarons than make them, they likely have a variety of places from which they can buy them. And if there aren’t local bakeries that make macarons, then people can certainly order them online. Regardless of whether you buy your macarons or make them, let everyone see what you’re eating by taking a picture of them and posting it on the internet using the hashtag #NationalMacaronDay.