Line a few cookie sheets with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
Use a round object like back of large piping tip to draw circle on your parchment paper. It should be about 1 inch in diameter with about an inch space in between each circle.
Since you need 2 macaron shells to make 1 cookie, you will need at least two baking sheets and parchment paper for this recipe.
If you are using a silicone mat, you will need to increase the baking time to 18 to 20 minutes. Take out at 18 and if you need to, you can add back in for another 2 minutes.
Start by placing the almond flour, powdered sugar, and a half teaspoon of salt into a food processor. *
Then, using a sifter, add the dry ingredients and gradually sift the mixture into a bowl.
Once you are done sifting, set the dry ingredients aside.
Start by carefully crack three eggs into a bowl without puncturing the yolk. Using clean hands, scoop out the yolk one by one and hold it above the bowl so that all of the egg white slides off. Repeat this with the two remaining yolk.
Then, add a half teaspoon of salt to the egg whites and begin to whip. Cream of tartar is also traditionally used as a stabilizer.
Next, using a whisk attachment on a stand mixer, whip the egg whites until they get fluffy.
Then, add the granulated sugar, vanilla extract, and a few drops of food coloring.
Get the color you want before the stiff peaks form. Do not add color after the eggs meringue becomes stiff.
Continue to whip them until you get stiff peaks. **
Once you have stiff peeks, grab a spatula and begin adding the dry mixture to the meringue a quarter at a time.
When adding in the dry mixture, make sure to fold rather than mix. Scoop from the bottom of the bowl upwards and folding it over.
Continue this until all the dry and wet mixture is incorporated. ***
How to Pipe Macaron Shells?
Use a little dot of the batter on the underside of the four corners of parchment paper. This helps keep the paper in place while you are piping.
Fill a piping bag with a half inch tip and begin piping small circles of batter onto the parchment paper. ****
Pick up each tray and drop them onto the counter to knock any loose air out from under the macarons. *****
When all the batter has been piped, let it sit on the counter for at least 30 minutes.
This is an important step! It causes a film to form over top of the macaron, and will help it retain its shape while it is baking and help make macaron feet.
If you don’t do this, the result might not look as close to what you envision when you picture a macaron.
While waiting for the macaron shells to form a film over them, preheat the over to 300 degrees.
Place the first tray in and bake for 15-18 minutes for parchment paper and 18 to 20 for silicone mat.
DO NOT be tempted to open the over door while it is baking, because this can result in an uneven bake.
Take the macarons out of the oven.
If they are not perfectly dried out, then you can pop them back into the over for a few more minutes.
You will be able to tell when they are ready because they will come off the parchment without sticking at all.
Let them cool completely before adding any filling.
Once you finish one tray, set it aside, and start on the next.