Macarons

 These are the most delicious thing I've ever tasted in my life. No kidding! And I love food, especially sweets, and cookies...but these...! Oh my God! They are delicious, lighter-than-air, melt-in-your-mouth goodness. They are supposed to look a certain way, but honestly, even if they don't look that way, they are still wonderful.

These are from www.homemadesimple.com/macaroons/

Please note, these are Macarons, not Macaroons (they are two different things).

French Macaroons
Makes about 84 cookies (42 sandwiches)

Prep time: 30 minutes
Stand time: 30 minutes
Bake time: 10 minutes

INGREDIENTS
1 cup slivered almonds (or skinless hazelnuts or pistachios)
2 cups confectioner’s sugar, divided
3 large egg whites
Pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
6-8 drops gel food coloring, color of choice

INSTRUCTIONS

Macaroons In Progress Pastry Bag

Line two large cookie sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.

In a food processor, combine nuts and 1 cup sugar. Pulse 5-6 times to break down the nuts, then process until mixture is finely ground. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine egg whites, salt, vanilla and almond extracts. Beat on medium speed until soft peaks form, about 3 minutes. Shift your mixer to high speed and gradually add the remaining cup of sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time. Beat until stiff peaks form. Add gel food coloring to achieve desired shade.

Pour approximately one quarter of the nut mixture over the egg mixture, then fold the two together with a large spoon. Repeat process, one quarter at a time, until all of the nut mixture is folded into the egg mixture.
Stand an extra-large plastic food storage bag on its base, then fold back the top about 4” to create a cuff.

Pour half of your batter into the bag. Unfold the cuff and seal the bag shut. Use scissors to snip off one of the bottom corners of your bag, creating your own piping tool.

Hold the bag upright, about 1” above the cookie sheet, then gently squeeze the batter out into 1” mounds. Refill the bag and repeat with remaining batter.

Let cookies stand at room temperature for 30-45 minutes. While you wait, preheat oven to 325° F.

Bake 10 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack and let cool completely. Once cool, pipe 1 teaspoon filling (see our ideas below) onto half of your cookies, then top each with a second cookie to create a sandwich.

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These are rumored to be very difficult to make, but I did not find them that difficult. Just make sure to follow the directions exactly, have the exact ingredients, measure carefully, and you should be fine.

If you are not sure about the piping, you can find many videos on YouTube that show you how. Here's a good blog post about macarons, too, with lots of helpful advice.

These are gluten free and dairy-free, but not sugar free. I'm not sure how you would make them sugar free, to be honest... Sugar is such a major ingredient, and the powdered kind has such an important texture in this recipe, that it may not be possible for it to be substituted. They do make some powdered Stevia, Swerve etc. but I haven't tried them yet.

Enjoy!

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