Last week, a colleague told me about a new macaron shop, JOY Macarons, which is opening at 839 W. Davis St. later this year. The mention of the dainty cookie planted a craving, and after two days, I gave in and ordered two dozen macarons from Liz at JOY.
First, Liz is a pleasure. She is passionate about the art of the macaron, and she is knowledgeable about her craft. For now, until her storefront opens, she is doing local deliveries and making the occasional appearance at area farmers markets.
I requested a random selection, and she delivered twelve different varieties, including cookies and cream, rose, almond, and toasted coconut. I was most excited about the salted caramel with buttercream, but the lemon fleur de sel made the biggest impression. 
For such a delicate little confection, the tart citrus flavor profile is certainly impressive. Another favorite in our office is the honey lavender, whose creamy white chocolate lavender ganache is mixed with local honey. The vanilla bean is classic, with Madagascar bourbon vanilla shell and Tahitian vanilla buttercream. Texture is everything with macarons, and these are the perfect measure of crisp and chewy.
We ate them faster than we should have. Big flavors can come in small packages.
If you want to learn to make macarons yourself, get a crash course from Liz on Sunday, July 27th at an event called Macarons + Mimosas. Visit Fullosophie for details and tickets.
