I never Starbucks would be featured at PB. 
I only found out about Starbuck macarons last weekend.
Approximately 3,500 Starbucks stores carry these little macs available just for the holiday season. 12 mini macaroOns for $9.95 ($.83 per mac - not a bad price from industrial macaron maker, CHATEAU BLANC and way cheaper than Laduree from the same Holder Company.)
The size is correct - 1 1/4" across. The texture is very smooth not horridly bumpy like too many US attempts at the French macaron but then again they make the macarons for McDo Cafe in France. It must be huge volume.
The flavors: coffee, pistachio, raspberry, chocolate, vanilla, lemon. The mouth feel pleasently chewy. The box is your standard egg crate affair - not a bad idea.
At least macs don't get mangled intransit.
*The big drawback - TOO MUCH SUGAR! Come on guys.
You came so close to giving us the real thing.
Starbuck's macarons come from Château Blanc near Lille, a good 224 killometers or 2 1/2 hrs from rue Bonaparte Paris 75006, so these are not your true Parisian macaron. I don't see one word about the macarons on their website. Test marketing 101?
Here's information you'll never see on a Parisian box. Who knew 3 little macs equal only 157 calories + 3g of protein?
At 39 calories each no wonder French girls are thin.
6 macs= Lunch!
HAPPY NEW YEAR Starbucks-Laduree-Paul Boulangerie
Please cut down on the sugar.
HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!
© by Carol Gillott 2010
Don't eat too many macarons.
Thanks very much to Cathy in CT for alerting me to Trader Joe's macarons. Does Chateau Blanc make these too? 
A fitting end of the year message-
ReplyDeleteDon't eat too many macarons!
And now we can thanks to Starbucks
who knew?
always very informative PB
Merci for the info
I have had both the real thing and Starbucks' version. I have made them. I make them fairly often. You are so right...they are NOT the same...or even close. I will tell you from my experience (which isn't worth much I realize ;) ) the reason they are not great is the time it must take to get from Marcq-en-Baroeul to where ever they end up. The shelf life is not that long!
ReplyDeleteActually frozen macarons keep well over many months from my own personal experience.
ReplyDeleteOf course nothing ever tastes the same as fresh out of the oven and if you can make them yourself successfully,
well
HATS OFF TO YOU JUNE CLEAVER!
The 6 macs = Lunch! equation gave me a good chuckle :D
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year, PB!!!
Have you tried the macarons from Burdick's Chocolates? I haven't yet, but if they're anything like their chocolates.....to die for :)
ReplyDeleteBurdick's recently opened a shop at 5 East 20th Street. Their shop & restaurant in Walpole NH sell exquisite chocolates and divine food! Happy New Year!
http://www.burdickchocolate.com/stores-and-cafes-nyc.asp
thanks for telling us about the Starbucks' mac's
ReplyDeleteNow we can call Starbucks, "Little Macs".
am I wrong in thinking that it is 3 macs that total the 157 calories? when it says serving size I think that means for the calories. I don't know why they have the 4x3 under neath though why not 3x4?
Thought you'd be interested that you can now get Paris-type macaroons at Trader Joe's. I just discovered them this past weekend for the first time so I don't know if they are a permanent item or only for the holidays. I have
ReplyDeletenever had those you worship in Paris so I don't know how they compare but because of your blog I drool at just the thought of finding them here and I
think these are pretty good...tiny but good. Only comes in vanilla and
chocolate but they are pretty cheap IMHO....$4.99 for 12.
BTW, your blog is a must for a peak every day...it's the best.
Happy New Year
Cathy
I saw them at Starbucks and REALLY wanted to buy them, but resisted. I'm in Seattle, so I love and still consider Starbucks "local", not the mega coffee store it really is...
ReplyDeleteFortunately, I am able to buy great macrons at Le Panier in the Pike Place Market.
Happy New Year!
Have a wonderful New Year Carol with plenty of macaron, of all kinds...
ReplyDeleteMy New Years Eve would be rather...american : we are going (me, my husband, my mother 80 and my mother-in-law 85) to Palais des Congrès (Porte Maillot) for a "Grease" musical performance!
Read my last post about macarons...miniature and 1:1 scale...
hope their are Many of these--->
ReplyDelete~~ Parisien macaron ~~
waiting for you, Carolg,
in 2010!
:-)
{{ i would not mind 2 or 3 myself }}
oooooh! I wonder if SB in Canada carries these. Probably not, but I'm going to do some sleuthing nonetheless. Thanks for the review!
ReplyDeleteI just succumbed to these at my corner Sbucks the other day. I was afraid to mention it here...lol.
ReplyDeleteGG & I bid you good & safe New Year's Eve, Carol.
xoxo from DC
I AM NOT a macaron snob! ! !
ReplyDeleteEver.
Be not afraid to tell of your macaron adventures puleeeze!
It's an ongoing adventure
Wow, Carol--I will have to investigate and see if any of our local Starbucks carry them! Who knew! Very interesting. Glad you liked the Auld Lang Syne link--I think it's haunting. HAPPY NEW YEAR to you, Carol!!
ReplyDeletexo
I must admit, I was disappointed to learn of the SB macarons awhile ago. I suppose it made them less special to me or cheapened them somehow?
ReplyDeleteAs for me, I will hold out for the real macaron ~ from a local french restaurant or whilst in Paris.
I wonder if immitation Perrier-Jouët at McDonald's will be next?
Happy New Year!
Interesting... It's a pity that they can't call them by their correct name though....
ReplyDeleteBonne Année!
Amaaaazing how many of your fans
ReplyDeletesimply love the whole idea of a really good macaron.
I'm one of the fans of your blog, Carol, but have no cravings for
the little macs.
I look forward to my daily dollop of
PB in 2010. Have a safe & Happy New Year...to all.
Bill
Yippee!! Something to look forward to in the New Year - macarons in Starbucks. How long do you think they will take to get to Dublin. I can distract myself from longing to return to Paris for a while.
ReplyDeleteKeep up the good work,
Liz
Did you notice that Starbucks spelled macarons with two "o's" on the boxes--macaroons?!! I guess they thought Americans are stupid, so they had to spell macarons incorrectly (the American way) to get our attention!!... I find this really stupid!! That being said, the macarons aren't too bad, as you said. However, I served them to some holiday guests, along with some of my Pierre Herme macarons that I defrosted--and, of course, there is no comparison!! But if there are no "real" macarons available, the Starbucks ones are better than nothing!!...
ReplyDeleteI always love reading "Paris Breakfast"--with my breakfast each day, of course!! Happy New Year, and here's hoping for more trips to Paris in 2010!!!
Kathleen
That's how the French translate macaron -
ReplyDeletewith 2 OOs as in macaroon
It's perfectly legit.
I wouldn't hold my breath on the Starbucks macs showing up in Dublin - Paris is so much closer..
The macaron is all over Paris and all over France in all levels of finess and exquisiteness. Macarons are available in McDonalds in Paris and why not?
True there are many lesser Champagnes than Perrier-Jouët.
I wish they had Champagne to go with...
carolg :)
Have a nice new years's eve Caroll.
ReplyDeleteI did'nt know I could find macarons at Starbuck but being in Paris Ithink that I will keep on buying the Ladurée or Pierre Hermé ones.
Christian
Happy New Year!
ReplyDeleteI wonder if our Starbucks stores in Montana will carry macarons? I'm thinking a big no. How much do they sell for, Carol?
ReplyDeleteAll the very best to you in the new year!
Starbucks! Too much carbon footprint for me. Why don't they make them here?
ReplyDeleteLOVE,
Annie
Who knew? I was at Starbucks last night & wasn't looking.........
ReplyDeleteI've never had a macaron - I might have missed the chance!
Happy New Year, Carol.
I wanted you to know how much I enjoy your work. Each morning, I open your Paris Breakfasts email with eager anticipation, just like a kid opening a present. I am one of those people who believe in rewarding myself with little things that make me smile and make me happy. You have added to my daily ritual and I wanted to send you my gratitude. I teach school and am always talking with my 5th graders about how it's my job and theirs, to make the world a better place. We spend a lot of time talking about how it's the simple things they can do like smiling at someone or saying hello to a person they've never talked to before.
ReplyDeletePlease know that what you do, although not quite so simple, makes the world a better place. Thank you. I appreciate your love for Paris ( I love it too), your delightful artistic talent, your eye for beauty and your sense of humor.
Thanks for sharing a bit of yourself with others.
Happy New Year!
With the warmest of wishes and kindest regards,
Katherine
Carol, I saw these the other day and realized they were at least made in France. Too bad they are seasonal only and too sweet. You need to get this blog to Howard Shulz somehow. I live in Starbucks country (Seattle) and don’t know of anyone, but someone must. It would be fabulous if they added these to their menu and change the name to LeStarbuche J
ReplyDeleteMAUREEN
I was SO delighted to spot these too!!!! :-)
ReplyDeleteWow! And I was just craving macarons, so I did the daring thing and MADE THEM TODAY! My chocolate ones turned out FLAT (but yummy) and my PINK ones turned out gorgeous and fluffy!
ReplyDeleteHi Carol!
ReplyDeleteYes I didn't quite expect you would post something on Starbuck's Macarons! but its worth a mention definitely. Hmmm wondering what the French think of that..ha ha ha...They probly just stare and go "ooohh..aaahhh" but in disagreement!! i love all your posts nonetheless, and I'm sure the French love yours too!
¡Beautiful blog!
ReplyDeleteHappy new year, Carol.
I'll have to check out McCafé here: Who knows, they may already carry macaroons, unbeknownst to yours truly??? Same for Starbucks (I never ever have coffee there, simply can't digest a whole bucket of Java - but I am happy they are here too, to give the coffeehouses an incentive to do a little dusting in the one or other department).
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year! :-)
P.S.:
One never knows what will happen with new imports. Just look at how the French made the Viennese Kipferl (i.e. croissant) their own. What did they think when they beheaded poor Marie Antoinette? ;-)
I was very excited when I got the message from Starbucks that they would be handling the macarons. Alas, I am not near one of the 3500 stores who carry them. My local store does not. Not enough retail sales so they tell me.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if any of the Starbucks in my area carry them. I'd love to give their version a whirl!
ReplyDeleteHi there Carol,
ReplyDeleteYour blog makes me miss France! Je suis etudiante de francais, et j'habitais a Grenoble en France quand j'etais jeune.
Please add my blog, I'll definitely be following yours :-)
Veronica
Arrrrrgh! You hear the sound of the Mistress screaming! Her Starbucks avez pas des macarons! Even sub-standard macs! And she just returned from a town with Trader Joes - MAC- LEss!!!! Sacre Blue! I must chain myself to the computer lest I miss an important post!!!
ReplyDeleteI can vouch for the Trader Joe's macarons. Not the same as the real thing in texture (just a little soft, but that could be due to freezing) or taste, but they will definitely do until I can get my hands on the real ones again. They are highly recommended.
ReplyDeleteWell I do trust your macaron tastes but I cannot believe Starbucks can even compare with Paris. I don't even like their coffee, but.........I'll go find one and do a taste test and let you know how they are. ( I'm very picky you know :)
ReplyDeleteV
I work at a SB in midtown NYC and the day these came in I bought them with my partner discount. I thought they were, well.. pretty terrible. The lemon and chocolate ones were decent, but very chewy--more like lemon squares and brownies, respectively. None had an even slightly crispy shell, no textural contrast. All were too sweet, as mentioned.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite in the city are from La Maison, Bouchon being a second place. The Trader Joe's are affordable and definitely fill a void!
i agree with you on your evaluation! i still crave laduree macarons and it's been like 5 months...sigh. i can't wait to go back! happy new year!!!
ReplyDeletei agree with you on your evaluation! i still crave laduree macarons and it's been like 5 months...sigh. i can't wait to go back! happy new year!!!
ReplyDeletei agree with you on your evaluation! i still crave laduree macarons and it's been like 5 months...sigh. i can't wait to go back! happy new year!!!
ReplyDeleteFunny.....
ReplyDeleteThey look exactly like the frozen ones at the supermarket!!! Hmmmmm.....
I so enjoy your Paris Breakfasts, and just wanted to let you know that in addition to Starbucks, I bought some French Macarons at Trader Joe’s just before Christmas. I later found them at Starbucks, and of course, bought them there also. I must say, that I enjoyed the Trader Joe’s version better, even though the flavors were limited (vanilla and chocolate).
ReplyDeleteWe were in Paris spring of 2007, and unfortunately did not “do” the macarons. It wasn’t until we returned that a friend of mine turned me on to your website and signed me up for a subscription.
If (when) I get back to Paris I will surely look for these wonderful little cookies.
Thanks for your wonderful pictures and stories.
Betty
Macarons - Macarons - Macarons!!
ReplyDeleteI have had too many - is this possible? I think not!
Just returned from 2 weeks in Paris, macarons from Laduree Champs Elysees, macarons from Laduree in Galleries Lafayette and yet again there is a Laduree in the Palace at Versailles.
I am having withdrawal symptoms, from macarons and from Paris.
Thank you for posting this! I love them and can't believe they are SO low cal!
ReplyDeleteHi, thanks so much for posting this! I wonder if the starbucks macarons are just a winter thing? That would make 2 things that I would go to starbucks for during the winter months (salted caramel hot chocolate being the other).
ReplyDeleteNice pictures! Do you mind if I use one on my macaron blog? See post http://perfectmacaroninnyc.wordpress.com/
- let me know!
Christine