Makes about 40 discs (20 closed macarons). Preheat the oven to 300ºF.

Ingredients

• 4 egg whites
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 cup icing sugar
• 1 cup almond flour
• Pinch of salt
• Gel food coloring (optional)

Method

Whisk the egg whites with the sugar on high for 10 minutes. If using food coloring, add at this point. The mixture should be dry. Sift the icing sugar, almond flour and salt together 4 times, discarding all the bits. As gently as you can, pour the egg mixture into the flour mixture and lightly fold together. Roughly 40 folds. With a spatula, gently scoop the batter into a piping bag with a round nozzle attached. Preferably ‘No 12’. With a circular motion, pipe out your shape quickly picking up the nozzle at the end to release. When you finish piping, wet your finger lightly and gently pat the tops down so as not to leave a spike when baked. Bake for 20 minutes. They should not stick to the baking paper. If so, continue to bake for another 2 minutes. When the macarons cool, fill them with jam or buttercream of your choice.

Tips

• Leaving the piped macarons out for 10 minutes before baking will ensure them to have an even layer of feet on the bottoms.
• Do not mix or stir. Only fold gently.
• Make sure egg whites are room temp.
• You can use natural color using fruits but that would change the texture thus changing the final product. I would advise, for the first time to keep it simple as this is already a tricky cookie to achieve.

Enjoy, and be sure to tag @givemeastoria and @aunteelis so we can see your final product! See you next Tuesday, for what’s sure to be another delicious treat!