French Macarons

I think macarons come across as a very intimidating item to bake.  When I first decided I wanted to attempt these a few years back I prepared myself for the battle of a lifetime.  Turns out I had nothing to worry about.  If you can use a stand mixer you can make these cookies!

When I started thinking of fun things to make for Valentine's Day, one of the first things that came to mind were macarons.  There is something so fancy about these beautiful little cookies.  In the spirit of the special day I decided to color the macarons pink and fill them with buttercream frosting.  A red macaron filled with a chocolate ganache would also make a stunning cookie.  These macarons have just the right amount of snap on the outside but are still gooey and delicious on the inside. 

French Macarons
1 cup icing sugar
3/4 cup almond flour*
2 large egg whites
1/4 cup sugar

*If you can't find almond flour you can use ground almonds and force them through a fine mesh strainer to break it down into a flour like consistency.

Sift together icing use and almond flour.  Preheat oven to 325°.  Using a mixer whisk egg whites on medium speed until they start to form soft peaks.  Add in sugar and whisk on high speed until spiff peaks form.  Fold icing sugar and almond flour into the egg whites.  If you want to color your macarons this is the time to add a gel color, folding the color in until it is evenly distributed throughout the batter.

Transfer better to a pastry bag and with a round tip pipe 2 inch rounds 1 inch apart on a parchment lined baking sheet.  Lightly drop the baking sheets on the counter to release any air bubbles from the cookies.  Let the cookies stand at room temperature for 15 minutes.  Reduce the oven temperature to 325° and bake one sheet at a time for 10 minutes, rotating the tray half way through.  Allow cookies to cool on the baking trays for 2-3 minutes then transfer to a wire cooling rack.  Once the cookies are completely cooled, pipe or spread filling onto the bottom of one cookie and sandwich with another.

Believe it or not, macarons are extremely freezer friendly!  I would suggest baking the cookies and then freezing them before filling them.  Then thaw and fill when they are needed.  Just make sure to store them in a solid container in the freezer as they will crush if something is set on top of them.