I have tried to review these Costco macarons for a while.

But it looks like they're not available year-long, only closer to the holidays. So there you go! I grabbed a box and decided to give it a try.

My objective is still to compare the best macarons in the United States. From the unboxing, to quality, to taste, I will provide my insights as a French chef.

Of course, I will do my BEST to be objective, knowing that Pastreez is also providing macarons.

1. Price
2. Ordering Costco macarons
3. Who is Le Chic Pâtissier
4. Costco macarons unboxing
5. Ingredients
6. Quality and taste

• Price

Obviously, price is the best argument for Costco macarons. On average online, it is $2.10 per macaron. Here, I paid $35 for 36 macarons, which is about $1 per macaron. That's unbeatable in the industry.

It's even better than bulk macarons pricing. But remember, you get what you pay for.

Pricing is related to quality of the products, ingredients, freshness and storage.

• Ordering process

It's an important thing to know: Costco do not ship their macarons. Most likely because they are frozen, and at this price point, it would be too expensive to offer delivery.

I also had to postpone this review for months, because 10 months out of 12, Costco do not offer these macarons for sale.

I'm not sure why. Probably because they think it is seasonal? Being the founder at Pastreez, I can confirm that the holidays is the peak of sales.

But year-long, we get steady sales as well: Valentine's day, Mother's day, Bridal showers, Baby showers, Corporate events, etc.

So if you want to put your hands on these, you'd have to wait until November.

There is also not much flavor variety. Only 6 flavors available: Chocolate, Vanilla, Raspberry, Red velvet, Salted caramel and Pistachio.

These are the classics. But nothing valuable for colorful events.

• Who is Le Chic Pâtissier?

On my macaron reviews, I insist on knowing who bakes them and when were they baked. That is really important to compare apples to apples.

On the back of the box, I could find that these were made by "Le Chic Patissier". On their website, it is mentioned that this company is held by another company called "Overseas Trading Team".. No names or location of their kitchen.

When such patries are made by a company with no names or location, it means they don't want you to know. They most likely produce in mass macarons for various Costco retailers and more.

So obviously, these won't be the finest macarons. But let's see, maybe I will get a pleasant surprise!

• Unboxing

The box is your typical frozen product box in the supermarket, similar to a pizza packaging. It's not intended to be gifted as is.

But it has all the informations needed you'll need from a supermarket: Nutrition facts, ingredients and more.

Upon opening the corrugated box, the macarons are sealed in an air tight blister, which is required for frozen products.

Not much more to say about the packaging.

• Ingredients

The list of ingredients is crazy. As a reminder, at Pastreez, our fresh-t-your-door macarons contain: Almond flour, sugar, egg white, chocolate, fruit purée (if any), food coloring. That's it.

Here, the Costco macaron list is endless: Sugar, Almonds, Heavy Cream (Cream (Milk), Carrageenan), Egg Whites, Dark Chocolate (Unsweetened Chocolate, Sugar, Soy Lecithin, Natural Vanilla Flavor), Glucose Syrup, Cocoa Powder (Processed With Alkali], Blend of Vegetable Oils (Coconut Oil, Sunflower Oil), Cornstarch, Glycerin, Cocoa Butter, Egg White Powder (Egg Whites, Lactic Acid), Mono- and Diglycerides of Fatty Acids, Soy Lecithin, Xanthan Gum. Guar Gum.

Most of these ingredients are conservatives and not needed for macarons. Adding these alter greatly the taste of it.

I note that there is a very short expiration date noted on the outside (November 7th 2024, in my case). This is about a month after I purchased them.

That's very odd. Frozen macarons are safe for months, since they don't contain any kind of harmful ingredients. Plus, with all these additives / conservatives, they should be okay for extra couple of months.

That shows me that these Costco / Le Chic Pâtissier macarons were most likely made few months ago.

• Quality and taste

Frozen products are usually less tasty than fresh products. Mostly because mass producers include conservatives to the recipe, to make sure their macarons stay good over months.

Macarons are a delicate treat, and food comes first by all senses: Sight and odor before taste.

 With the Costco macarons, nothing surprising. There is a frozen smell when opening the package, similar to the frozen pizza smell.

On the size side, these are actually very close to the authentic French size, which is about 1.7 inches diameter. At Pastreez, we do authentic size as well.

Some bakeries in the US make "American size" macarons which are over 2 inches in diameter. So if you're looking for bigger size macarons, these are not it.

They look okay considering they're mass produced, but they are dull. Not that vibrant color you'd hope for. They almost feel "overcooked" to the eye.

The texture of a macaron should be eggshell outside, soft inside. A perfect balance (I wrote an entire blog post about what macarons taste like).

Here they are all soft, mostly due to thawing, and poor quality of filling (too much butter).

On the taste like, overall they are edible. But way too soft and chewy. Way too "buttery". Nothing compared to freshly made macarons. All flavors taste very similar.. It feels like I bite into butter. Sorry guys, I'm really trying my best!

Lastly, let's analyze the inside of Costco macarons. See here the Pistachio one as an example.

Macarons are made with two shells and a filling (learn more about what is a macaron on our blog).

 So yes, this looks like a macaron. But let's take a closer look for the review. On the side of the Costco Pistachio macaron shell, you see a brownish coloring. These are slightly overcooked shells.

See how the filling is intense and compact? There is too much butter in there. It is called a buttercream, as opposed to a ganache, made with white chocolate.

A buttercream is cheaper to make compared to a ganache. It is also harder, more fat and less tasty. But to produce in mass, a buttercream is ideal to reduce cost.

My conclusion: These are very affordable. That's the only good point.

Don't waste your money here. Even if they are way more affordable than authentic macarons, I'd consider quality over quantity.

Perhaps, instead of taking 48 macarons, you could try 24 or even a dozen at first.

And if you intend to use these for your wedding or baby shower, just forget Costco. Not only they taste bad, they don't look vibrant at all for an event.

My only recommendation would be to use them as decoration, as long as the colors matches your party, and nobody really taste them.

I hope my review helped! Let me know which pastry or bakery you'd like me to review next in the comment section!