Macaron (French Macaroon)

This quintessential macaron recipe (not macaroon) came about after much trial and error. I am a baker's apprentice and the baker and I finally perfected the technique and decided to share it with you all. Pipe your choice of filling on a cookie and sandwich another cookie on top. These are like cloud cookie sandwiches and are delicious if done correctly. If you want to do it the super-easy way, just fill with your favorite flavor of frosting. Enjoy!

• Preparation Time: 30 mins
• Cooking Time: 10 mins
• Total Time: 40 mins
• Calories: 92 Calories

Ingredients

• ¼ cup white sugar
• 3 egg whites
• 1 cup finely ground almonds
• 1 ⅔ cups confectioners' sugar

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat.

Step 2

Beat egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment until foamy. Add white sugar and beat until egg whites are glossy, fluffy, and hold soft peaks.

Step 3

Sift confectioners' sugar and ground almonds in a separate bowl; quickly fold almond mixture into egg whites, about 30 strokes.

Step 4

Spoon a small amount of batter into a plastic bag with a small corner cut off and pipe a test disk of batter, about 1 1/2 inches in diameter, onto the prepared baking sheet. If the disk of batter holds a peak instead of flattening immediately, gently fold batter a few more times and retest.

Step 5

When batter is mixed enough to flatten immediately into an even disk, spoon into a pastry bag fitted with a plain round tip. Pipe batter onto the baking sheet in rounds, leaving space between the disks. Let piped cookies stand out at room temperature until they form a hard skin on top, about 1 hour.

Step 6

Preheat the oven to 285 degrees F (140 degrees C).

Step 7

Bake cookies in preheated oven until set but not browned, about 10 minutes.

Step 8

Let cookies cool completely before filling, about 30 minutes.