#Canada: French Macarons! After a cooking class in Tuscany is so beautiful to keep in touch and share recipes…

• 1 3/4 cups icing sugar
• 1 cup almond flour/ground almonds
• 3 large egg whites at room temperature – tip:  they are easier to separate when cold
• 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1 pinch salt
• 1/4 cup superfine sugar
• 2 to 3 drops gel food coloring
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, almond or mint extract

Cooking Directions
Make the Batter
Line baking sheets with parchment and set aside.

1. Using a medium-mesh sieve, sift the confectioners’ sugar and almond flour into a large bowl and set aside. A couple tablespoons of unsifted course almond flour may remain – throw that out. 
2. In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the egg whites on medium speed until foamy and the wires of the beater(s) leave a trail, 1 to 2 minutes. 
3. Add 1 Tbs. of the superfine sugar and continue to whip for another 30 to 45 seconds. Repeat 3 times with the remaining superfine sugar. 
4. Once all of the sugar is mixed in, continue whipping the whites until they turn glossy and stiff (when you lift the beater(s) from the bowl, the whites should hold a straight peak that doesn’t curl at the tip, 4 to 8 minutes more.
5. With a large rubber spatula, fold in half of the icing sugar mixture. 
6. Once most of it has been incorporated, fold in the remaining mixture until just combined.
7. Add your desired flavoring and a tiny amount of gel food coloring until you get to your desired color. For mint/Nutella macarons, I used 2 drops of mint flavoring and a tiny amount of blue/green gel coloring.

Prepare the Cookies

1. Using a piping bag fitted with a ½ – to ¾ -inch round tip, pipe the batter onto the prepared sheets in rounds that are about 1 inch in diameter and ¼ to ½ inch thick, spaced about 1 ½ inches apart. 
2. As you pipe, hold the bag perpendicular to the baking sheet and flick the tip of the bag as you finish each cookie to minimize the peaks. 
3. Drop the sheet against the counter several times to flatten the mounds and pop any large air bubbles. 
4. Let rest until the meringues no longer feel tacky, 20 to 30 minutes (this step is very important!).
5. Meanwhile, position racks in the top and bottom thirds of the oven and heat the oven to 300°F.

Bake the Cookies

1. Put 2 of the cookie sheets in the oven and immediately reduce the temperature to 300°F (let the third sheet sit at room temperature). 
2. Bake, rotating the sheets and swapping their positions after 8 minutes, until the meringues are very pale golden, 15 to 20 minutes total. Cool completely on the baking sheets on racks.
3. Remove the meringues from the parchment and pair them by size.

Fill the Cookies

1. Using a piping bag with the same tip used to pipe the cookies, pipe 1 to 1 ½ teaspoons of the filling onto half of the cookies—you want to use just enough filling that it spreads to the edge when topped but doesn’t squish out much when bitten. 
2. Top the filled halves with their partners. 
3. Store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 day or in the freezer for up to 2 weeks.

Mint Nutella Filling:

1. ½ c. Nutella
2. ¼ c. Butter (never margarine!)
3. 2 c. icing sugar
4. 2 drops of mint flavoring
5. 1 tablespoon milk
6. Mix in stand mixer on medium until thoroughly combined. Add another teaspoon of additional milk if the mixture is too dry.