Sometimes Foodie: Macro-ron - Lidl Brownie Macaron Sandwich

Took a bit of a break, but I'm back, baby.

Macarons are a lot of work. They're made with (expensive) almond flour, they need to be piped in uniform puddles, then you need to let them rest before tapping the tray on the counter to create the perfect "foot," all before baking and assembling. I sadly don't have the time, or the budget, to perfect a macaron in my kitchen. (Although I would love to one day.) So, for now, I buy them. Even when they come from Lidl. they still feel like a luxurious treat.

Lately, I've noticed that macarons are getting Big-Mac-ified. Meaning, they are getting bigger, and more outrageous. Like those Milkshakes that were all the rage a few years ago. The ones that were topped with full-sized separate desserts and have glass vessels covered in chocolate. It's a spectacle more than anything else. (I mean, how are you supposed to eat the chocolate off the glass? It's such a waste.) It appears to be Macaron's turn. I've seen huge ones stuffed with ice cream and fillings, like ice cream sandwiches, or giant cake-sized ones meant to be cut up and served at parties. Then there's this smaller scale one I saw at Lidl.

It's a macaron, filled with brownie chunks, vanilla bean crème, and salted caramel. In theory, it all sounds great, but will it be too much?

Compared to a normal macaron, these almond shells are easily three times larger, and I'd say there is 5x the filling.

Opening up the clamshell, the top of "sandwich" came off easily. The square chunks of brownie kept it hovering above all the crème fillings like little edible bricks. It looks like there is a very small amount of salted caramel, which is odd because this is a "salted caramel brownie," not a "vanilla-bean," brownie. The ratios look-off, but everything here does look appealing.

Putting everything back together and taking a bite, the macaron shell is soft and chewy, not light and crispy. Given all the fillings and the fact that this is a refrigerated item, that's to be expected. The most prominent flavor is the brownie, which is like a softer version of a Cosmic Brownie, or like a baked version of the brownie batter bits you find in ice cream. It's dense and fudgy, but more-so in texture than it is in flavor. As if it were slightly undercooked. It's decent, on-par with a high-end box mix brownie, but the real problem is the brownie flavoring overpowers everything else. I didn't get much salted caramel to begin with, so I didn't taste much of that at all. and the vanilla crème added a custardy texture, but it more-so added to the brownie batter feel of everything.

This is decent, and enjoyable, but it's more of a brownie product than anything else, and since the macaron lacks texture, and it's delicate flavor is lost in the fillings, it makes it kind of pointless that this is a macaron at all. Might as well be some kind of brownie bite. Or a brownie sandwich. (Is that a thing?)

Frozen or refrigerated macarons are not the same as bakery-fresh. If you want pinkies-out level cookies, you'll be better off getting them from your local bakery. Most of the time, grocery store macarons will do in a pinch, but this is more-so a brownie than anything else. If you want a chocolatey pick-me-up, this little treat will do the trick, but if you're after a macaron, this missed the mark. I ate it no problem, but I probably wouldn't buy it again.