After reading my Costco macarons review, the sales manager of Le Chic Pâtissier Ben commented on our blog post.

They reached out to me by email to give it a second thought, which I agreed on. So they sent me samples of their macarons, for a review.

1. Price
2. Ordering process
3. Unboxing
4. Ingredients
5. Quality and taste

• Price

At just $28 for 24 macarons (only $1.16 each), this option is highly affordable. Especially when compared to the average price of $2.10 per macaron online.

However, it's important to compare apples to apples. These are frozen macarons, which don’t deliver the same experience as freshly made ones.

Just like how a frozen pizza at $4.50 can’t be compared to a restaurant pizza priced at $12 to $15.

The same applies here: Frozen macarons simply can’t match the flavor and texture of fresh, handmade ones. More on that below.

• Ordering process

Le Chic Pâtissier is the official provider of Costco macarons in the US. You can find these at any Costco location, which is a good point.

Since my last review, I notice that the macarons are now available on their website to purchase as well. Nice one!

I would still advise to improve tremendously the website experience though. It is very basic, with no information of where the macarons are made from (and by who).

There is also no option to customize your set, and select only the flavors you like.

• Unboxing

You’ll spot them in Costco’s frozen section. The packaging is decent, but it’s clearly designed for frozen storage, with a basic corrugated box style.

The blister tray is functional but quite thin. It’s not ideal for displaying on a dessert table, though you could transfer the macarons to a nice plate if serving as is.

It does the job and hold the macarons in place!

• Ingredients

A lengthy ingredient list usually signals a more processed item, especially common with frozen foods that require preservatives.

In this case, the macaron ingredients are quite extensive. Le Chic Pâtissier, the brand behind Costco’s macarons across the U.S. — and likely beyond — has seen impressive global success.

However, since they’re manufactured in Belgium and shipped internationally, these treats must be frozen and include preservatives to maintain shelf life during transit.

• Quality and taste

Let's now go over size, color, shape and taste!

Size - Authentic macarons are around 1.7 inches in diameter, 1 inch high, per our Le Cordon Bleu Paris standards when we graduated.

Le Chic Patissier macarons are slightly smaller, but I wouldn't consider them bite-size either. Size is decent. It is not the "American" sized macarons though.

On this picture, please pay attention to the hole in the shell. This is called "hollow macaron". It is caused by air trapped in the meringue based shells. An easy way to avoid that is to tap your pan sheet on the table to release air bubbles prior to baking.

Colors are passable but generally muted—not vibrant. Some even appear overbaked, as shown in the Pistachio macaron photo, slightly brown on the corners.

Since the colors are consistently dull, it’s likely that all macarons are baked at the same temperature and duration, without adjustment for individual flavors.

Probably due to production issues: When you manufacture macarons in bulk, you can't really update the temperature and duration depending on the colors.

Here is a side to side comparison with Pastreez macarons:

Pistachio macarons (left Pastreez, right Le Chic Pâtissier)

At Pastreez, we make macarons in small batches. Each flavor / color has specific settings: Baking temperature / duration in oven. This is mandatory to get vibrant colors.

Let's now check the inside.

As mentioned earlier, some shells are "hollow", due to air bubbles trapped before baking. A simple way to avoid that is to tap several times your pan sheet on the table to release air, before to put it in your oven.

The macaron texture is surprisingly good though, considering they were frozen.If you’re unfamiliar with how real macarons should taste, check out my detailed blog post.

That said, frozen macarons rarely keep their signature crunch. Instead of the airy “eggshell” texture, these lean soft and soggy.

Overall, Le Chic Patissier did a correct job, considering these are industrially made for big box stores.

Price is very aggressive. I would consider using these macarons for cake decoration, but don't expect vibrant colors and signature taste of a freshly made macaron.