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Mise en Place
Directions
large egg whites, room temp. for at least a half an hour 2 I have used 2-day old egg whites that I set aside, I have mixed 1/2 Egg Beaters and 1/2 real egg whites, I have used only Egg Beaters. All will work just fine. Egg Beaters Egg Whites in a carton will work, but not taste as good. Save the Yolks if you are going to make butter cream filling.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees with rack in lower third. If you don’t already have almond flour Grind: Place almonds in a food processor; process until as fine as possible, about 1 minute. Sift powdered sugar to the almond flour by food processing or sifting: Pass almond mixture through a fine-mesh sieve and set aside.
2/3 cup almond flour (71 grams) I used Red Mill Almond Flour, But you can use almond slivers to make flour yourself. Either way, I re-mill the almonds in a coffee grinder what we never use for coffee so that it looks like powder.
Whisk egg whites: Using a stand mixer, beat the egg whites and sugar at a low speed (Kitchen Aid speed four) for 2 minutes, When the whites are big, bubbly, and without stopping the mixer, add cream of tartar. Medium speed (Kitchen Aid six) for 2 minutes add the granulated sugar, little by little. And a high speed (Kitchen Aid eight) for 2 minutes.
1 cup powdered sugar (117 grams) Sifted (and sifted again with the almond flour)
Beat the egg whites until stiff, shiny and glossy white.
Cream of Tartar- a pinch This is an acidic powder used to stabilize the egg whites.
Add food coloring, if desired, and beat on highest speed 30 seconds.
1/4 cup granulated sugar (53 grams) Fine sugar is recommended, but I used the regular table sugar. The key is to add it at the right time and only a spoonful at a time. Sugar must be added when whipped egg whites look opaque white, not cloudy and clear.
Now for hand mixing the batter: Add the sifted Almond and Powdered sugar in thirds. Fold with a spatula from bottom of bowl upward, then press flat side of spatula firmly through middle of mixture. Repeat until batter flows smoothly, like real egg whites. It should feel elastic and look smooth.
Food Coloring Liquid is fine, just follow the directions for Easter Eggs. I mix colors beforehand.
Fill pastry bag with the batter and press out air. Tip: Place the1/2 -inch round tip inside the pastry bag and place this in the plastic take-out container or yogurt tub and drape the open end around it.
A Mixer I prefer an electric hand mixer The hand mixer worked better than the Kitchen Aid to whip the eggs.
Time to pipe! Fill the silicone macaron mat if you have one... Or use parchment. Place the circle template (see other side) under the parchment as your guide. Dab some batter under the corners of the parchment to keep it in place while piping. Keep the tip in one place and fill the circle. It’s okay if it has a point- if you mixed the batter correctly this will melt down. Carefully remove the template to re-use on the next batch.
A food processor or a clean coffee grinder to make DIY almond flour if you aren’t buying the ready-made flour. You can use the food processor to sift the flour and powdered sugar too. A Sifter, fine mesh sieve or a food processor For sifting together almonds flour & confectioner’s sugar
Tap sheets firmly against counter 2 or 3 times to release air bubbles and poke them out with a tooth pick. Let these rest on the counter for at least 15-minutes or enough time for the batter to get a “skin” an be dry to the touch.
A Pastry Bag and a 1/2 piping tip I prefer a reusable silicone bag to a disposable plastic bag. Parchment Paper or A Silicone Macaron mat on top of a baking sheet Parchment yields shiny, smooth, cookie bottoms, that no one but you will see. Sometimes the cookies stick. The silicone great because it keeps all the cookie dough contained. A template of circles for piping
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Let cool completely on cooling rack. Store in Airtight container in the freezer. Or make into filled sandwich cookies, that is up to you. - Denotes the step in the process
Miscellaneous: Spatula(s) , a plastic take-out container or large yogurt tub (quart-sized), Wire cooling rack , air-tight containers for storage , humidity-free weather
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Bake 1 sheet at a time, rotating halfway through, until risen and just set, 11 minutes. If you have a convection oven, turn on the fan, no need to rotate. Macaron should not start browning.
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