Meet Macarons, a sweet meringue-based confection from France. They are like cloud cookie sandwiches, they taste incredibly good and they’re really easy to make.

In France, the almond variety is called macaroon; it is typically small, light like meringue, with added coloring, sometimes flavoring, and often comprise two halves stuck together by a filling of e.g. flavored cream.

Ingredients

• 3 egg whites
• 1/4 cup (57g) white sugar
• 1 ⅔ (225g) cups confectioners’ sugar
• 1 cup (115g) finely ground almonds

Directions

1. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat.
2. Beat egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment until whites are foamy; beat in white sugar and continue beating until egg whites are glossy, fluffy, and hold soft peaks.
3. Sift confectioners’ sugar and ground almonds in a separate bowl and quickly fold the almond mixture into the egg whites, about 30 strokes.
4. Spoon a small amount of batter into a plastic bag with a small corner cut off and pipe a test disk of batter, about 1” 1/2 (3,5cm) in diameter, onto prepared baking sheet. If the disk of batter holds a peak instead of flattening immediately, gently fold the batter a few more times and retest.
5. When batter is mixed enough to flatten immediately into an even disk, spoon into a pastry bag fitted with a plain round tip. Pipe the batter onto the baking sheet in rounds, leaving space between the disks. Let the piped cookies stand out at room temperature until they form a hard skin on top, about 1 hour.
6. Preheat oven to 285°F (140°C).
7. Bake cookies until set but not browned, about 10 minutes; let cookies cool completely before filling.
8. Pipe your choice of filling on a cookie and sandwich another cookie on top.

Bon Appétit! Enjoy!