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The history of the macaroon goes back more than 1000 years to the Arab empire of the 600-700s. When the empire expanded across North Africa into present day Sicily, the Arabs brought their food with them.

One of the foods they brought with them was a sweet "cookie" made from honey and ground nut flour, probably pistachio, but perhaps almonds or other nuts.

The Sicilians called this food "maccheroni" because it was made from a peanut and maccheroni referred to any food, salty or sweet, made from something ground; nuts, wheat, whatever.

Over time, sweet maccheroni evolved to incorporate egg whites for leavening and used the bitter almonds so well known throughout the Italian peninsula.

This cookie, made with ground almonds, sweetened and leavened with egg whites, is more or less what we still know today as the Italian macaroon.