If you shop for macaroon [aka macaron] cookbooks, you’ll find a bevy in your bookstore or online. The pictures of intensely colored macaroons with intriguing flavor combinations can be overwhelming.

Suzen and I own a dozen of these books and we can help you sort out which books to consider and why. The table at the end of this blog compares seven of the books we’ve found to be most useful. And successful! We’ve been to Paris and we’ve tasted every color of Laduree’s treats, so we are official macaroon experts.

To get started, you need one book: I Love Macarons by Hisako Ogita [it’s officially I [Heart] Macarons]. Mrs Ogita is a Japanese baking maven who writes about French pastry techniques. Her book is the best because of the research and quality that it reflects on each page. She has refined the techniques for the home cook, and has majestically documented and photographed the steps to making a perfect macaroon.

There are two styles of macaroons:

• French made with egg whites beaten into a meringue
• Italian made with a hot sugar syrup added into an egg white meringue

Ogita’s book is one of two books that describe both techniques. She breaks the process down into microsteps, far more than any other author. And she provides pictures for every step. Suzen followed her exactly and had nothing short of Parisian quality. She was happy, and I was nourished.

For a second book, our favorite is Macarons by Berengere Abraham. It too breaks the process into many steps with photos of each one.

The other five books listed in this table are all excellent ones. For the experienced macaroon maker, they provide exciting flavor combinations. But, if you are just beginning and need expert advice on technique, then the books by Ogita and Abraham are essential.

Stores displaying macaroons often have a dozen different kinds, beginning, of course, with chocolate, vanilla, coffee, … In the last column of the table I’ve included for each book three of their “more exotic” flavor combinations. There are really an unlimited number of ways to flavor the cookie, then the filling, and finally apply some outside flavor or texture to the assembled macaroon [rolling in pistachios, for example].

Each of these seven books is rich in flavor ideas and combinations. Macaroon popularity is certainly due to the extravagance of these ideas. You kitchen is the place where you flavor imagination can literally go wild.