Basic French Macarons

Ingredients

• 125 g icing sugar
• 125 g almond flour
• 125 g white superfine sugar
• 90 g egg whites
• to taste food coloring
• to taste filling as desired

Steps

1. Combine the almond flour and icing sugar.
2. Sift to remove lumps, and set aside.
3. Add the superfine sugar to the egg whites, and whip them to stiff peaks.
4. Add the food coloring to the egg whites.
5. Continue beating until incorporated.
6. Use a wooden spoon or rubber spatula to fold the almond flour mixture into the meringue in 3 batches.
7. Mix until you get a lava-like batter (see notes).
8. Transfer the batter to a pastry bag fitted with an 8 mm round nozzle.
9. Pipe 3 cm rounds on a baking sheet lined with baking paper.
10. Tap the sheet lightly on your work surface to even and flatten the mixture.
11. Leave to air-dry for 30 minutes until a film forms on the surface of the cookies.
12. Bake for 12 minutes at 150°C with convection.
13. Remove from the oven and let cool completely.
14. It's a good idea to move the parchment onto a cooling rack to avoid carryover cooking.
15. Peel the shells from the parchment, and sort them into pairs of equally sized shells.
16. Sandwich the cookies together with your desired filling.