Italian Meringue Macarons

Ingredients

150g almond flour @werconboerdery150g powdered sugar110g egg whites, room temperature, divided equally in 2 bowls140g sugar40g water

Directions

For extra smooth macaron shells, food process and sift your almond meal and icing sugar a few times before you begin with the recipe.Add in 1 part (55g) of the egg whites, and mix until a paste forms. You can add in food coloring at this point if you are adding.Place the water then the sugar into a small sauce pan. If using water soluble food coloring, you can add it now. Bring the sugar to 118C.When the sugar begins to boil, begin whipping the other half of the egg whites on low or medium low speed.When the sugar reaches 118C, take it off the heat. When the bubbles disappear, turn your mixer with the egg whites to high speed and slowly pour in the sugar. Pour against the side of your bowl, and stream in at a steady pace.Continue whipping on high or medium high speed until the meringue is stiff and has cooled to room temperature.Fold 1/3 or 1/4 of the meringue into the almond mixture. After that has been combined, continue adding in more meringue.Once everything is added in, finish the macaronage process by scraping the sides of the bowl and folding the batter over onto itself until it reaches the “ribbon’ stage.The batter should flow off your spatula like a ribbon back into the bowl-it should not be thick and sticking to your spatula ina clump, and it shouldn’t be too runny.Use a piping bag and piping tip (i like 803-806) to pipe the batter onto your tray. I use a silpat, though you can use parchment paper too.Rest the macarons on your counter until a skin forms. For me it takes about 20-25 minutes, thought it might be anywhere from 15 minutes to nearly an hour (If your macarons don’t have a skin after an hour, something is probably wrong)Bake the macarons at 150C for about 15 to 18 minutes. Cool completely on the tray before removing the shells, matching them in pairs, and filling the macarons. Macarons are best served the next day. The flavours blend and soften the shells ever so slightly giving it the perfect texture.