Photo by Chris Bassett

Behold the power of “o.” No, we’re not talking about Oprah – we’re talking about a cookie, or a pastry, to be more exact. What happens when you drop an “o” from macaroon? Eureka! The French macaron is nothing like the American macaroon. A macaron is an elegant, sweet, meringue sandwich with an ethereal buttercream filling. A macaroon is a clunky blob of sugary coconut.

Nobody does French macarons better than Eugenia Theodosopoulos at Essence Bakery Café in Tempe. Perhaps that’s because Theodosopoulos mastered the technique of these temperamental cookies while working at the renowned Lenôtre in Paris. Upon returning to America, she basically had to start from scratch, laboring for eight years to perfect the persnickety pastry. “French eggs, sugar and almonds – the basic ingredients in a macaron – are different than American ingredients,” Theodosopoulos says, “And I’m still tweaking the recipe.”

Just in time for Thanksgiving, Theodosopoulos is piping out a pumpkin spice macaron. She grew up making pumpkin pies in her father’s restaurant in Ohio and designed this seasonal delicacy with that flavor profile in mind. The result is a humble homage to the essence of pumpkin – not too sweet, bursting with pumpkin flavor and tinged with a hint of ginger, the warmth of cinnamon and just a wisp of nutmeg. This pumpkin spice macaron is just one more reason to give thanks this November (and we think a box of these would make a smashing hostess gift for the Thanksgiving cook).

Essence Bakery Café still offers the original French chocolate and the caramel macarons, with plans to introduce other seasonal flavors in the coming months. Pink grapefruit, perhaps? The large macarons are $2.95 each, or miniature versions are packed in a “little box of treats” with other handcrafted pastries for $4.95.