Macarons and Thanksgiving Traditions

As a child of a first-generation immigrant, we didn’t necessarily have Thanksgiving traditions that had been handed down from generation to generation. But growing up, we quickly adopted many of those traditions. Our family would invite as many people as we could, including extended family and those who didn’t have any family nearby. We would serve the same menu every year – oven-roasted turkey with stuffing and cranberry sauce, broccoli cheese casserole, green beans and pumpkin pie for dessert. The day after, everyone would go to our local Mexican restaurant to unwind and celebrate.

Over the years, small things have chipped away at those traditions. Our celebration tends to be smaller now, with just our immediate family. We do a deep-fried turkey as well as the oven-roasted. Our favorite Mexican restaurant doesn’t really work for us anymore. But for the most part, the core traditions remain the same.

When it comes to French macarons and pastries, my philosophy is the same. We experiment with different flavors like Maple Pecan or Caramel Apple for Thanksgiving. We recently introduced a double-chocolate croissant. And of course, our signature crobrios are not something you would find in a typical patisserie in Paris.

But I still stick to the core techniques, the core principles central to any French pastry chef. Even though it would be easier (and cheaper!) to buy ready-made sheet dough, I still insist on making our sheet dough from scratch every day. In my opinion, it’s what makes our croissants tastier and flakier than any others you can find in town. And of course, we still make our macarons by hand – next time you are in the shop, take a look and you can see that each macaron is just a little bit unique to reflect the uniqueness of every customer that visits us.

We continue to chip away at our traditions to make even better macarons and pastries for you.

But rest assure that your favorites will always be here, just the way you love them.

So while this year has been challenging in so many respects, there are still so many things we are thankful for. Especially you, for supporting us and helping us keep our doors open.

Enjoy time with your family and friends (and hopefully some La Patisserie treats). And we look forward to seeing you in the stores again soon.