@eshoe  I will say Laduree's macarons were even better back in the late 80s when I first visited France. They're still fantastic, though! They now ship to the US through Goldbelly, so if you ever want to blow lots of money on some super tasty treats... not to enable but, I'm just sayin'. 😈 I ate macarons at several different patisseries in France and there are great ones out there, so it's not like Laduree is the only source of greatness. But still, theirs have remained my favorites. 

And omg, the effort involved in making these little finicky things from scratch... it's not enough that they taste good. They MUST have good "feet" (the wonderful crust on the bottom of each half) and the correct airy texture. My first couple attempts didn't product good enough feet, which meant the dough texture was off. I think anyone who bakes should attempt to make macarons at least once, if for nothing else than to truly appreciate these cookies. 😄