French Macarons

Directions

• 1. Place the almond flour and 1-3/4 cups confectioners’ sugar in a food processor; pulse until thoroughly mixed to ensure almond flour is very fine. Pass almond flour mixture through a fine-mesh sieve; discard any large pieces that remain.
• 2. Place egg whites and salt in a very clean bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment; whisk on medium-low speed until frothy. Slowly add superfine sugar; whisk until dissolved, 1-2 minutes. Slowly add remaining 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar; increase speed to high and whip until meringue is glossy and stiff peaks form, 1-2 minutes.
• 3. Gently fold the almond flour mixture into meringue, a third at a time. Using the side of a spatula, smooth batter up sides of bowl several times to remove air bubbles and ensure there are no lumps; do not overmix. Run spatula down the center of the bowl; the line in the batter should remain visible for a moment before mixture runs back into itself.
• 4. Position rack in upper third of oven; preheat oven to 300°. Transfer batter into a pastry bag fitted with a #7 or #10 round tip. Pipe 1-3/8-in. rounds onto a parchment-lined tray about 1 in. apart. Tap tray against counter 2-3 times to remove excess air bubbles. Let macarons rest until no longer wet or sticky to the touch, 30-60 minutes. Bake, 1 tray at a time, until cookies rise about 1/8 in. to form "feet," 14-16 minutes, rotating tray halfway through baking. Remove tray and let macarons cool completely; repeat with remaining trays. Once macarons have cooled completely, remove from parchment.
• 5. To make filling, cream butter in a stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment; slowly add confectioners' sugar until incorporated. Add heavy cream, vanilla and salt; mix until smooth. Pour frosting into a pastry bag fitted with a small round tip; pipe buttercream onto the bottoms of half the macarons. Top with remaining macaron shells. Refrigerate, covered, until ready to serve.
• 6. Strawberry Variation: For macaron shells: Add pink gel food coloring (do not use liquid food coloring) to whipped meringue until desired color is reached. For filling: Add 1 tablespoon strawberry powder to confectioners' sugar. If desired, add 2-3 drops strawberry flavoring to frosting. Pipe a circle of frosting onto bottoms of half the macaron shells. Place 1/4 teaspoon strawberry jam in center of each frosting circle. Top with remaining macaron shells.
• 7. Chocolate Variation: For macaron shells: Add 2 tablespoons dark cocoa powder to almond flour and confectioners' sugar before sifting.