This post comes to us from Kelsey Krasnigor, a Small Kitchen College guest contributor. Kelsey is a film major at UC Santa Cruz, studying abroad in Paris, a city near and dear to our hearts. When she sent us this ode to the macaron, we couldn’t resist sharing.

— The Small Kitchen College Team

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Paris is known as the city of love. And I’m in love in Paris. Did I mention that I happened to be in love with a macaron? Well, no one ever specified who or what I would fall in love with! And really, after you’ve taken just one bite from this creamy cookie, you will understand my love affair…and be jealous of our relationship.

It seems that every patisserie in Paris now offers their own version of the macaron, even McCafé, McDonald’s coffee and bakeshop, is now serving them up. The macaron is bite-sized and therefore the ideal little sweet snack or dessert. A week ago I decided the only logical way to discover the perfect macaron was to head out on a macaron crawl, hitting all of the better-known stores: Laudurée, Lenôtre, and Pierre Hermé. Macarons come in such a wide array of fun colors and flavors: you can find everything from rose petal and crème brûlée to black liquorice and cinnamon raisin.

And at the last shop, it was love at first sight. I’d like to think the macaron spotted me first. But really, how could anyone resist an adorable little meringue cookie, filled with sumptuous ganache filling? Especially if it had a light dusting of glitter on top? I chose the white truffle and hazelnut, surprising myself, as I usually go for more classic flavors like vanilla or caramel. Upon my first bite, the macaron melted in my mouth, it was rich from the truffle oil, with an underlying sweetness accented by the perfect crunch of the hazelnuts. The ganache oozes out of the middle and accentuates the texture of the meringue outside. After promptly inhaling five macarons, I understood why my mom requested that I buy a box of them before my flight back home, bringing her lots of yummy goodness.

And luckily for me, my love affair with the macaron does not have to end when I head back to the states, as Laudurée recently opened a new shop in New York City. When I asked an employee about the new store stateside, they told me that macarons are flown daily from Paris to New York. Which made me chuckle to think of rows of cute little macarons buckled in to a seat.

Kelsey is a junior at UC Santa Cruz, currently studying abroad in Paris, majoring in cheese and eating her body weight in chocolate. She loves to run, walk around gourmet markets, bake for other people, and watch holiday films.