The owner of Steph’s Macarons in Hackensack, Stephanie Tran, is a one-woman army. She bakes, cleans, takes photos, and handles all the marketing, content creation, packaging, and inventory for her business. So it catches her by surprise when anyone asks her, “Do you have a storefront?” This implies she has employees, which she definitely does not.
Stephanie started baking macarons in March 2020. At the time, she was a second-year dental student in San Antonio, Texas. “I had always heard macarons were difficult to make, but I wanted to challenge myself,” she recalls. “I didn’t expect to turn it into a business when I tried to check this off my bucket list.”
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She moved to Hackensack for her dental residency program in June 2022, bringing her baking business with her. After encouragement from friends, she registered Steph’s Macarons as an LLC in November 2022. “I see it as a commitment to myself to no longer view macarons as ‘just a hobby,’” she says.
Steph’s Macarons specializes in both French macarons and “puparons,” which are macaron-shaped dog treats. All the macarons are gluten-free, made with almond flour. She also sells nut-free macarons using toasted croissant crumbs for those allergic to tree nuts. She recently added vegan macarons to her menu, as well.
Flavors, Favorites, & More
The best-selling flavor is crème brûlée, and Stephanie offers custom designs for all occasions. For instance, the Cookie Monster macaron is her best-selling design. It’s filled with cookies and cream ganache, and the macaron is holding a mini cookie in its mouth. Likewise, the Spider-Man macaron is a popular pick. At the moment, Stephanie’s favorite options are the s’mores, Thai tea, black sesame, and Cinnamon Toast Crunch macarons.
In addition to a curated selection of macarons, Steph’s Macarons creates seasonal flavors and box sets. For example, her Thanksgiving box features a turkey, the turkey head from Friends, an autumn leaf, and an acorn; plus a pumpkin pie-shaped macaron with “cutie” written on it, a play on the phrase “cutie pie”. Meanwhile, her winter holiday box includes a teddy bear, Santa’s belly, Cookie Monster with a Santa hat, and gingerbread man; plus Ferrero Rocher and crème brûlée macarons.
Stephanie personally delivers macarons with a minimum purchase. She also offers private macaron baking classes. “Everything I learned about baking is from YouTube and the Internet,” she says. “I never went to culinary school.”
Future Plans for Steph’s Macarons
Stephanie has big ambitions for Steph’s Macarons. “I want to open a bakery, ideally next to my dental office!” she says. She’ll let her dentistry career determine the location. In the meantime, she’s considering expanding to nationwide shipping and/or opening a mobile macaron van. “My big, scary dream is to open multiple Steph’s Macarons bakeries in large cities I have a personal connection with; Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, North Jersey, maybe even NYC!,” she says.
Steph’s Macarons is based in Hackensack. Look for them online to learn more.
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All Photos: © Stephanie Tran / Steph’s Macarons
