Delightfully colorful and sweet, French macarons are one of life’s little luxuries. The delicate crackle, soft chewiness, and melt-in-your-mouth fillings make each one irresistible, yet many fans reserve the small cookie as a special treat. Now, there’s a local vegan version worth coveting.
Enter Denver Macaron. Here chef Jamie Picasarri is deliberate with every detail, and she’s on a mission. By creating a gluten-free, plant-based recipe, she hopes that everyone can enjoy a moment of indulgence with these delightful desserts.
The Two-Woman Team
In addition to baking, Picasarri has long had a passion for animal welfare. Many of her fellow volunteers at the Denver Animal Shelter and Humane Colorado (formally Dumb Friends League) followed a vegan lifestyle, sparking her interest in plant-based confectionery and techniques. Specifically, Picasarri wanted to perfect a vegan French macaron recipe.
“I don’t know why I fell so hard in love with it, but I just did,” she said of her obsessive research and creative experiments. After a year of tedious trial and error, she launched Denver Macaron.
Operations began at La Victoria Healing Kitchen, a collaborative space in Aurora that offers a shared commercial kitchen alongside culinary classes, workshops, and cultural events. Picasarri found deep value in its community and soon landed her first big client: the Denver Botanic Gardens.
With increased demand, the busy baker brought on Nikki Finley, a professionally trained pastry chef who formerly worked at The Brown Palace and Miette et Chocolat. Part-time hours quickly evolved into full-time and ultimately, partnership in the business. Now, Finley co-owns Denver Macaron and serves as chief operating officer.
The ambitious duo moved into their own kitchen in the Speer neighborhood this past February, where together, they hand-pipe as many as 8,000 macarons a month.
The Macaron-Making Process
“Beat until stiff peaks form” is an instruction many bakers have come across, particularly when making meringue. Egg whites have a fascinating protein structure that stretches when whipped, trapping air bubbles and forming a pillowy foam.
As Picasarri discovered in her first year of experimenting, plants seldom behave in the same way. She first tested aquafaba, which comes from soaked chickpeas. While mostly water, this liquid contains just enough bean-based protein to act as an egg substitute. But for macarons, Picasarri found that its structure wasn’t quite right.
She continued testing with aquafaba powder and other meringue mixes before discovering her game-changing ingredient on an online forum: potato protein. “It has the same chemical makeup as egg whites,” she explained. Unable to find a supplier in the United States, Picasarri placed a bulk order from a company in France, then tested recipes for another six months.
Finally, with everything down to a science, she had a macaron so close to the real thing, few would guess it’s actually vegan. That was the goal, she said, adding, “You’ve got to make a product that is plant-based, but just as good.”
Denver Macaron delivers on this concept and the macarons closely resemble the traditional confection. Its cookies have a delicate crust and that classic ruffled edge, along with a soft chew. Though, unlike traditional macarons that can be sort of gummy in texture, these plant-based treats are more light and airy.
These cloud-like cookies also stand a touch taller. To balance proportions, the bakers pipe on a little extra ganache or velvety, plant-based buttercream. Some flavors, like its seasonal peppermint chocolate macaron, feature a bit of both decadent fillings.
The Perfect Holiday Gift
For the upcoming holiday, the brand has debuted a “twelve days of macarons” gift box priced at $50. It features festive limited-edition flavors like chocolate hazelnut, peppermint chocolate, and banana walnut, along with several signatures. Made with all-natural colors, these include spiced horchata, raspberry almond, pistachio, and Picasarri’s personal favorite, toasted coconut. To sweeten the deal, 10 percent of every box sale will be donated to the Denver Animal Shelter.
Other customizable sizes are also available including three-packs for $11.25, six-piece sets for $22.50, and bundles of two dozen cookies for $90. Meanwhile, tiered towers start at $212 and are perfect for holiday parties, as well as weddings and other special events.
Elegant, bespoke packaging keeps the macarons both safe and fresh during transport. To further ensure freshness, Picasarri recommends freezing the cookies up until the day of gifting or shipping. Then, store them on the counter for a couple of days, or refrigerate them for up to two weeks. Though, with how delicious they are, we suspect you won’t be able to keep from eating the macarons before then.
The bakery offers online ordering for pick-up at 450 Lincoln St. in Denver, and ships nationwide to all continental states. Start checking names off your list and of course, treat yourself, too.
