Yountville’s Madeleine’s Macarons releases autumn line of savory macarons

Madeleine’s Macarons is always up to something delicious. In addition to its sweet macarons, it offers unique savory cookies with a year-round seasonal line.

The Yountville bakery makes about 4,000 cookies a week and offers 40 flavors.

It all started during the pandemic, when wife and husband Aubrey and Dennis McIninch lost their jobs in the restaurant industry. On Valentine’s Day in 2020, Dennis decided to make his wife her favorite treat: a macaron, the delicate meringue-based confection.

“I wasn’t a baker but I wasn’t intimidated by making macarons. I had the ingredients, so I thought it’d be easy,” he said. “For the next five months during lockdown, I was obsessed with making them and trying to perfect them.”

The question became: “Why not start a business?”

Madeleine’s Macarons took off at the Napa Farmers Market before a brick-and-mortar location opened on Valentine’s Day this year in Yountville.

The cafe and bakery offers luxury coffee and sweet and savory macarons, along with macaron ice cream sandwiches, custard and more.

The couple partners with local wineries, such as Mumm Winery and Frank Family Vineyards, to offer tastings that pair with the macarons.

Soon, and fittingly, the couple also will offer madeleines — small sponge cakes with a distinctive shell-like shape.

“The shop is a small place, very beautiful. It has a courtyard. In the mornings people come and sit with their coffees and macarons,” Aubrey said.

She runs the business while her husband is head baker.

“I couldn’t imagine doing this on my own; there are other businesses at the farmers market that do everything with one person,” Dennis said. “There’s no way. It’s been a good partnership. We’re a good team.”

Madeleine’s Macarons just released its savory fall line, and the flavors are unexpected. Some of the options include bacon and fig; feta and thyme rolled in hazelnuts; beet and goat cheese; pear Gorgonzola with walnuts, apple and sage; and a Mexican street corn with Tajín.

“The savory ones are surprisingly popular,” Dennis said. “They’re limited, labor intensive and more expensive. But people are so pleasantly surprised by them. They’ll buy one, leave, then taste it and come back for more.”

And if the macarons are the star of the show, the couple’s scratch-made custard is a strong supporting player.

The couple used their surplus of egg yolks — the delicate macarons only use egg whites — to offer the creamy concoction, paired with ingredients from local businesses, such as organic strawberries from Rodriguez Farms and mint from Long Meadow Ranch.

“We like to support small businesses as such, especially because we got our start at the Napa Farmers Market,” Aubrey said. “We love them. We know everyone and have great relationships with all of them.”

The business is named after the couple’s oldest daughter, Madeleine, who was 2 1/2 when the company started. But the madeleine cookies “ironically” will be named after their 2-year-old daughter, Ruby Sue.

The business employs 10 workers and hires interns from the Culinary Institute of America, as well as from out of state.

“Because macarons are so specialized, when interns come on board, they’re going to get better at making them,” Dennis said.

Despite the success, the McIninches haven’t forgotten their roots, as they still table at the local farmers market.

“We took some pretty big risks early on and it’s paid off, but we’re still working as hard as ever,” he said. “I’m from Jersey and I’d never had a macaron. It’s just crazy, it’s insane — we’re like, what are we doing? But it’s a good thing.”

You can reach Intern Emma Molloy at emma.molloy@pressdemocrat.com.