Macaroons and macarons can be confusing! The two desserts share a tangled, mysterious history beginning with the Arabs and ending in America with the arrival of coconut. Pronunciation is also a factor as to why people confuse macaroons with macarons, and visa-versa. Historically in the English language, macaron was pronounced with a long "O" sound. Which sounds like macaroon, what Americans came to call coconut drop cookies. So to clarify, macarons are almond meringue pastries sandwiched together with creamy fillings. Macaroons are coconut drop cookies. If you landed here but want all the dirty details, do scroll up.