A Little Bit Of Paris Comes To Havre de Grace

If you smell aromas of blueberry, vanilla and cherry cheesecake while walking down North Washington Street, it might just be from 's newest boutique—Les Petits Bisous.

Les Petits Bisous, which means "Little Kisses" in French, is the perfect way to describe the delicate sandwich cookies, called Parisian macarons, that the store offers. 

According to the Les Petits Bisous website, "The macarons are made by hand using The French method of macaronage (mixing the batter by hand until it becomes a glossy ribbon when poured) from a base of egg whites, almond meal and sugar."

Les Petits Bisous owner, Wanda Hall, moved here from Paris a little over a year ago and decided to make Havre de Grace home for her Parisian macaron business.

Hall, couldn't be happier with the outpouring of support from the Havre de Grace community.

"The town has been so supportive and optimistic," Hall said.

Hall has been baking desserts all her life and was introduced to the French macaron in Paris, where she lived for six years.

"This is my introduction to the macaron boutique," she said. "I'm trying to mimic the type of macaron boutiques that are in Paris where you go in and you get a lovely box that you could bring to your friends."

Hall said her favorite flavors ae the unique ones—which she tries to feature along with the traditional flavors.

"Whatever jumps out at you, whatever you think is the best," she said. "Obviously I like them all. These are the ones I chose to have. I'm really partial to the salted caramel. The three on the bottom are extra special. They are the less traditional ones which are cherry cheesecake, salted caramel and green tea," Hall said. She also shared that her delicious desserts are gluten free.

Les Petits Bisous also offers other flavors such as chocolate ganache, lemon, vanilla, and blueberry—which happens to be September's flavor of the month or "parfum du mois", as Hall said it.

She hopes to create a pumpkin buttercream macaron for the month of October and suggests having them with a black coffee or a strong cup of tea.

Hall suggested the colorful macaron pyramids for weddings, dinner parties, or showers. See an example in the slideshow with this post.

"The pyramids are traditional French wedding center pieces," she said. 

On thoughts of expanding her boutique to other desserts or pastries, Hall said her business will remain small for now.

"I make them all here. It's just me, myself," she said. "And so I don't think I'll be expanding."

Les Petits Bisous hours are 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday at 100 North Washington St.

TELL US: Have you tried a macaron from Les Petits Bisous yet? Leave a comment.