O'Donnell and Rajani both credit the increase in the macaron's popularity over other treats (e.g. cupcakes) to consumers' lack of guilt when they eat one (or two) French cookies, compared to eating a whole cupcake.
"When you eat a cupcake, you feel guilty because they are heavy and calorically dense," Rajani says. "Macarons -- our macarons, at least, because I can only tell you the nutrition of ours -- are 50 calories each, plus or minus size. About seven of those would equal a cupcake, like an average cupcake. And so people don't feel as guilty. So when they come by for their couple of macarons, they are like, 'Oh, this is my little 100-calorie treat for the day.'"
Rajani explains that traditional macarons are made with almond meal, pistachio meal or hazelnut meal, making them excellent treats for the gluten-intolerant.
"Ours are 100 percent gluten-free, and so we do have a lot of clients who come here specifically to get their celiac friends/family gifts," she says. "And we get that question all the time, like on a daily basis -- 'Are these all 100 percent gluten free?' So those who are sensitive are definitely seeking them out."
But just because macarons are lighter dessert options doesn't mean they don't taste good. That's one of the main reasons these two bakers love macarons.
"I like the flavor because you use almond meal in it. So, to me, I love the flavor combination," O'Donnell says. "Like we have a cherry one that I love. So I guess for me it would be the almond meal because of the flavor, and then it has the perfect bite; so it is crunchy on the shell and then on the inside it is chewy."
Rajani makes macarons every day, eats quite a few every day and still enjoys them.
"I just love them. I love everything about them. I love that they are -- at least ours are -- all made with natural ingredients -- it's almond meal; it's not heavy; it's not dense; the flavors are light," she says. "I've been working here for a while and making macarons for a while, and I probably still eat like ten a day, so I'm still not sick of them, which is kind of hard to say about things you are around so much."
