Bitter Bites -or- Macaroh-no!

The good folks over at NPR enticed me with this headline today, Move Over, Cupcake: Make Way For The Macaroon. Now, I have to admit, although I pride myself on my baking skills, I have no idea what a macaroon, or macaron, is. I was always under the impression there was coconut and condensed milk involved, and NO eggs, but alas, I was mistaken. I've been reading about these pastel treats on different blogs for a few weeks now, but have yet to check out any recipes (out of principle, I tend to avoid anything pastel colored. I hate pastels). Blogger, Tartelette, is a pro at the art of macarons, and even I have to admit, she makes pastels look good!

Imagine my dismay when I finally discovered what these little jewels were made of... egg whites! Ugh. I'm allergic to eggs, and while I have been known to "forget" this from time to time to enjoy a couple of cookies or a cupcake every now and again, my gag reflex kicked in just reading the recipe mentioned in the NPR article. 13 egg whites! Really? I can feel the hives busting out on my skin already. If what NPR reports is true, I'm in some serious trouble here.

"Macaroons are the new cupcake," said one young man in a Penn State sweatshirt at a recent class, as Bendano explained how to make rose-flavored white chocolate macaroons. "They're now the fashionable snack. We're trying to get ahead of the curve on that."

I love me a good cupcake, and hope they never get replaced, especially by something so unbelievably impossible for me to even remotely consider consuming.