"Some people want a cake to celebrate a birthday," said Santa Fe resident Ellen Tipton. "I wanted a cookie."

But not just any cookie.

The birthday treat Tipton craved had to be the Ispahan — a special rose macaron sandwiched with rose-petal cream, whole raspberries and litchis with rose-petal garnish — made legendary by Pierre Herme in Paris, a city famous for the delicate, pastel-colored almond macarons that line its patisserie windows.

Her mother, a gifted Southern cook, hooked her early on with her chocolate-coconut macaroons, Tipton said. She became addicted to the French version in 1994, she said, when she visited Ladurée in Paris for the first time.

"Ladurée considers itself the salon de the (tea house) that put macarons on the culinary map in Paris," Tipton said. "They even call their macarons 'royals.' "

So, when she spied a 4-hour macaron workshop on the Web site for the Ecole Ritz Escoffier in Paris, Tipton added it to her birthday gift to herself. "That way I'd not only taste macarons," she said, "but would learn how to make them."

Tipton — an experienced cook who has also been a frequent participant in cooking classes in Santa Fe at Las Cosas and the Santa Fe School of Cooking — had attended demonstration classes at the Ecole in 1990 and 1994, she said, but this would be her first full-participation class — a chance to immerse herself in French culture and round out a vacation schedule packed with visits to favorite museums and shops.

One of the reasons she likes the Ecole, Tipton said — she has also taken classes at Le Cordon Bleu — is because of its centralized location and ease of access. Students meet outside the Hotel Ritz at the 38 rue Cambon entrance in the 8th arrondissement about
10 minutes before a class is scheduled to start, she said. "At that time, they're led into the bowels of the hotel to the school's kitchens."

The pastry kitchen is well-stocked with aprons, recipe booklets and a pencil for notetaking, Tipton said. The only one of the eight students in the class who was not French, her recipe book was in English, although the measurements were still written in the metric system. And, unlike most U.S. cooking schools, there were only the briefest written instructions; students were expected to take their own notes as they worked their way through production of the cookies, she said.

Although Tipton speaks French, she opted to have an interpreter by her side during the class so she wouldn't miss any details. "I was blessed to be paired with Perrine Mervant," she said, "who was remarkable in her interpretation of culinary techniques and always saw to it that my questions were answered. She assisted the chef, provided anything we needed and willingly took photos of me in action."

Tipton was equally impressed with chef Didier Steudler, who taught the class. "The chef began our time together with a brief history of macarons (they are reputed to have originated in Greece, although some sources credit Catherine de Medici and her Italian pastry chefs with introducing them to France) and a discussion for the local students of where to obtain food coloring, purées, almond flour and other ingredients. Chef encouraged us to take photos of each step of macaron preparation," she said, "supplied countless cooking tips, offered tastes along the way, and showed us optional ways to decorate the macarons. All of us relished his terrific sense of humor," she added.

The chef demonstrated the first batch of macarons, then divided the class into two groups, with each team preparing a different version of the cookie.

The French macaron isn't made with coconut, as is common in the United States, Tipton said. "It's an almond meringue dough piped into circles, baked and then filled with buttercream, ganache, curd or marmalade to make a sweet sandwich."

The three flavors the chef chose for Tipton's class were cassis, pistachio and passion fruit. "All were delectable," she said, "but the passion fruit was exceptional."

The part of the process Tipton most feared, she said, was piping the soft dough into even smooth, even circles — but she managed it beautifully.

At the end of the class, the chef's assistant boxed up two dozen macarons and three containers of filling for the students to take home. They also received an official certificate attesting to their success.

Tipton continued to "research" macarons throughout her vacation, she said, sampling (among others) jasmine, caramel fleur de sel, chestnut, red currant and nougat variations at patisseries throughout the city.

And the birthday cookie that started her macaron odyssey completely fulfilled her expectations, Tipton said. "Pierre Herme has taken the Ispahan to ethereal culinary heights," she said. "Truth be told, the primary reason I'd wanted to return to Paris was to sample this very dessert of his — and it did not disappoint!

"Just call me 'Mademoiselle Macaron,' she laughed.




Ellen Tipton took home a certificate for "Les Macarons" from Ecole Ritz Escoffier — and a recipe that only she can interpret.

For readers fortunate enough to have a trip to Paris planned, Tipton recommends Pierre Herme, Maison du Chocolat and Gaston Lenôtre for the "crème de la crème of macarons."

For readers who would like to purchase macarons in the U.S., she suggests the Parisian-style meringues made by Jean-Yves Charon for Williams-Sonoma (www.williams-sonoma.com or 800-541-2233) or those from Payard Patisserie in New York City (www.payard.com or 212-717-5252).

For readers who want to make their own macarons, we offer the following recipe, adapted for Santa Fe's altitude from one in the September 2008 issue of Gourmet magazine by Santa Fe baker Maggie Faralla. (If you've caught the macaron fever, you can find four more variations on the basic recipe by logging onto www.gourmet.com/recipes and doing a search for macarons.)

A word of warning: Macarons bake best when the air is very dry — usually not a problem in Santa Fe; don't try making them for the first time when it's raining or — more likely these days — snowing.

ESPRESSO-BLACKBERRY MACARONS
(Makes about 24 sandwich cookies)

For the macarons:
3 ounces almond flour
(2/3 cup) or blanched sliced almonds (3/4 cup) or slivered almonds (2/3 cup)
1-1/2 cups confectioners sugar
1 tablespoon instant espresso powder
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 large egg whites, at room temperature for 30 minutes
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
For the filling:
About 1/2 cup blackberry jelly

Make the macaron batter: Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.

Grind almond flour (or almonds) with confectioners sugar in food processor until powdery, about 30 seconds for flour or 2 minutes for almonds. Sift through medium mesh sieve into a bowl. (If not finely enough ground for nearly all nuts to go through, regrind what's left. Our tester had to regrind about 1/3 cup of the almonds.)

Stir together espresso powder and vanilla in a cup until the powder has dissolved.

Beat egg whites with salt in a bowl with electric mixer at medium speed until they just hold soft peaks. Beat in granulated sugar, a little at a time. Increase speed to high and beat until meringues hold soft, glossy peaks, about 1 minute. (Very stiff peaks can be problematic at high altitude.) Add espresso mixture and mix at low speed until incorporated. Fold meringue into almond mixture with a rubber spatula until completely incorporated. (Meringue will deflate and batter will be loose.)

Pipe and bake macarons: Put small dabs of batter under corners of parchment paper to secure it to the baking sheets.

Spoon half of batter into pastry bag (or 1-quart zip-top plastic bag with corner cut out). Holding bag vertically just above baking sheet, pipe 1-1/2-inch wide mounds of batter about 1 inch apart, stopping pressure and flicking tip sideways to avoid peaks. (Tips can be tamped down with a wet finger.) Refill pastry bag and repeat.

Let macarons stand, uncovered, at room temperature until a light crust forms, 20 to 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 325 degrees, with racks in upper- and lower-third positions.

Bake macarons, switching position of sheets halfway through, until crisp and interior does not give easily when gently pressed — about 28 minutes total (start checking at 22 minutes).

Loosen macarons from parchment paper with offset spatula (they will be fragile).

Assemble cookies: Sandwich flat sides of macarons together with a thin layer of jelly. Layer macarons between sheets of parchment in an airtight container and let stand at room temperature at least 2 hours before eating.

Note: Filled macarons can be kept in an airtight container wrapped in plastic wrap, chilled for 2 days or frozen for 1 month. Before serving, bring to room temperature in wrapped container (to avoid condensation) about 1 hour if chilled or 2 hours if frozen).