MONROE — Sandwiched between a yoga studio and a dry cleaner is what Lisa Laidlaw affectionately calls her “shoebox.” This long and narrow retail space is her baking laboratory.
It’s here Laidlaw experiments with new flavors of French macarons. She tries to craft cookies that replicate the tastes of different dishes, like sun-dried tomato with bacon jam and everything bagel with candied jalapeños. Her coconut curry macaron is a personal favorite.
“That’s the one that gets me the most raised eyebrows, but it’s super delicious,” said Laidlaw, 47. Other unorthodox flavors, like Bloody Mary, aren’t as delectable: “It definitely is interesting,” she offered. “It’s not my favorite.”
Salted caramel, chocolate mint and pistachio rose are popular picks at House Balthazar in downtown Monroe. And no, that isn’t one of the noble families vying for power in the show “Game of Thrones.” It’s just what Laidlaw calls her one-woman macaron bakery.
Laidlaw used to make her living in the corporate world, but last year she started selling homemade macarons. In August, she opened her Monroe storefront.
Laidlaw loves the creativity and challenge that comes with baking macarons. The sandwich cookies consist of two round disks traditionally made of sugar, egg whites and almond flour with a jam or cream filling. Sounds simple enough, but Laidlaw calls the confection “notoriously finicky.”
“You can have 10 batches that are perfect and beautiful, and then the next one goes all wrong,” she said.
What separates an average macaron from an extraordinary one is the texture, according to Laidlaw. She makes each cookie by hand using local ingredients whenever possible. Her customers can tell the difference between her treats and those coming from Safeway or Trader Joe’s.
As she puts it: “There are a lot of macarons in the world. They are not all created equal.”
Two types of macarons sit on a dish on Oct. 17, at House Balthazar in Monroe. Lisa Laidlaw uses local ingredients for all of her creations. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Before starting House Balthazar, Laidlaw, a Montana native, worked an office job in Bellevue. She managed a 15-person team that helped move and resettle Microsoft employees around the world.
Back then she wasn’t a huge baker, but one weekend her stepdaughter Erin asked if the two could bake macarons together. Laidlaw accepted the challenge and the two got to work.
Laidlaw described the first batch as “OK.” The second one was a complete failure.
“And it just got under my skin,” she said. So she worked to perfect her cookies, consistently testing batches until her newfound hobby snowballed into a fast-growing side business.
Over time, the “midnight baker” found it increasingly difficult to balance work with her passion. Laidlaw re-examined her life when the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
“It was a time where a lot of us reflected on our lives and our values and our priorities, and I was no different,” she said. “I did a lot of soul searching.”
Laidlaw thought about the things that made her happy and realized her corporate job was not one of them. So she left and spent the next year working for a nonprofit animal rescue. That gave her some breathing room and time to think. She decided to go all in on macarons and ramp up her operation once she felt it had passed a tipping point to become a full-time enterprise.
The House Balthazar name and logo greet guests as they enter the patisserie on Oct. 17, in Monroe. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
The name House Balthazar was originally meant for a champagne tasting room Laidlaw dreamed of opening. A balthazar is a type of large wine bottle that holds 12 liters.
Laidlaw had the name and logo picked out, but with COVID-19 it suddenly wasn’t the best time to start a business centered around gathering in person. So she put that idea on the back burner as her baking passion took shape. In the end, her business changed but the name stuck.
On a typical day, Laidlaw makes about four dozen macarons. Most of her sales are custom orders. She also has a monthly variety box subscription called “Club House B.” Foot traffic is scarce, but she always stocks the shop with about a half dozen flavors at any time.
Laidlaw picked a Monroe venue as it’s close to home, meets her kitchen needs and is in a town she predicts will expand.
“Monroe is right on that cusp of trying to grow and get a little bit more cosmopolitan,” she said. “It’s not there yet, but it’s trying.”
Laidlaw said the local community is supportive, and locals have said her shop is “like a little Paris.”
In the future, Laidlaw wants House Balthazar to expand and franchise. She still dreams of opening that champagne tasting room, but this time with macarons for sale. Her biggest fear is the business ending with her, but she’s content with running one location for now.
“I come every day to my little shoebox and I love it,” she said.
Lisa Laidlaw, owner and baker at House Balthazar, holds a plate of macarons in the kitchen on Oct. 17, at House Balthazar in Monroe. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
If you go
House Balthazar
203 N Lewis St., Monroe
360-996-7996
Hours: Noon-4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday.
Pricing: House favorites are $18 half dozen, $32 full dozen. Monthly box sets and limited editions are $20 half dozen, $35 full dozen. Macaron Towers are $110 for four tiers (about 36 macarons), $210 for six tiers (about 72 macarons). Minimum one week notice for orders up to three dozen, and a two-week notice for custom orders, towers and orders of three dozen or more. All flavors contain nuts, eggs and dairy.
Order online: www.housebalthazar.com
Eric Schucht: 425-339-3477; eric.schucht@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @EricSchucht.
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