It’s almost time to experience the Naughty & Nice List collection of Elizabeth Berman’s flavorful macarons. Try The Grinch with sour lime buttercream and a sweet strawberry center or Gingerbread with gingerbread spiced-caramel filling.

Small Oven Pastries is Elizabeth Berman’s second act. After years of a career in higher education, she decided to go in an entirely different direction. Elizabeth didn’t learn to bake until her 30s, and after a baking class at Boston’s Cambridge School of Culinary Arts, macarons hooked her immediately. It was the magical mix of science and artistry and her notorious sweet tooth that channeled her energy in this direction.

Her collection of signature macaron flavors includes salted caramel, maple-black raspberry, raspberry, maple brown butter, and strawberry shortcake and capitalizes on Vermont’s standout ingredients—from eggs and butter to berries and maple—from local farmers, producers and artisans. Elizabeth shares, “Macarons are tiny canvases, and I get to play with Vermont ingredients, global inspiration, and seasonal surprises. It’s like being part scientist, part artist, and part mischief-maker.”

It’s all about the flavor. “What really sealed it for me was seeing people’s reactions and instantly lighting up with joy—that was my aha moment.” That first bite of flavor showcases what’s possible when you take high-quality local ingredients and have some fun with them.

These gluten-free cookies are complex to produce. A balance of only four ingredients that require a controlled environment and appropriate chemistry provides a challenge that Elizabeth embraces, knowing there are 100 ways it could go wrong. After mastering the right formula and creating her signature flavors, she explored collaboration. Elizabeth recognized this was an opportunity to highlight Vermont’s remarkable food system and to build meaningful connections with her community centered around food as a shared experience. Working with and alongside Vermont growers, artisans, and makers to weave their ingredients into her macarons has been key to her success.

Who knew that Vermont cheese would pair so perfectly with macarons? Elizabeth worked with her cheesemonger friends at 5th Quarter Butcher + Provisions to create the Macs + Cheese collection—six unique macaron flavors that are inspired by and paired with six award-winning Vermont cheeses—four of which are incorporated into the fillings. The G.O.A.T. melds Vermont Creamery chèvre buttercream, Blake Hill Caramelized Fig preserves, and spiced honey pistachio brittle. Apple Pie à la Vermont contains spiced maple brown butter buttercream, apple pie filling, and Cabot Clothbound Cheddar crumbles. Bleu de Cerise infuses Jasper Hill Cellars Withersbrook blue cheese into an 85% dark chocolate ganache and finishes with a sour cherry preserves center.

You can order Small Oven’s vast selection of macarons from their online store or seek them out in more than 15 Vermont food and specialty stores. Somehow, Elizabeth finds time to teach small group and private macaron classes offering a twist on traditional giving where folks walk away with not just pastries but a memorable shared experience.

Elizabeth will continue to share, celebrate, and delight us with her flavorful macarons with a sure bet that there will be more ways she will collaborate with Vermont businesses including Ellison Estate Vineyard, Jasper Hill Cellars, and the Vermont Cheese Council. Above all she will offer us moments of pure delight after that first bite.

• smallovenpastries.com