Basic recipe for French macarons

Ingredients for 1 servings:

• 50 g almonds, ground, blanched
• 50 g powdered sugar
• 30 g protein
• 13 g sugar
• possibly food coloring
• 15 g cream cheese
• 15 g powdered sugar

Instructions

Working time approx. 1 hour; Rest time approx. 5 hours; Cooking/baking time approx. 12 minutes; Total time approx. 6 hours 12 minutes

always work, makes about 12 macarons

Remove the egg whites from the refrigerator and wait until they have reached room temperature. Many recipes call for 2-3 day-old egg whites. This isn’t necessary, but they definitely need to be at room temperature. Mix the ground almonds with the powdered sugar, grind them very finely, and then sift them several times; three times has worked for me. Remove any large pieces. Weigh the egg whites; for a medium egg, you might not need enough. Whisk them in a food processor with a whisk. Slowly add the sugar. Then beat the mixture on high for about 8 minutes until stiff peaks form. If desired, you can add food coloring to the egg whites. Watch the consistency. I always use the liquid coloring and only add 5-6 drops. It always works! Using a spatula, fold the very finely ground almonds into the egg whites until the mixture is smooth and viscous. A good test is to place a small dollop of the mixture on a baking sheet. If it becomes nice and round and flat without running, the mixture is perfectly beaten. Fill a piping bag with the mixture and distribute even dots onto the baking paper. I printed out an A4 sheet with twenty-four 3.5 cm circles, which I placed under the baking paper as a template. Tap the bottom of the baking tray to smooth the surface of the shells. Let the shells air dry for about 30 minutes so that a light skin can form. If you wait too long, the skin will become too thick and the shells will crack during baking. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 160°C (top/bottom heat). Remove the template from under the baking paper. Do not bake the paper. Bake the shells on the middle rack for about 12 minutes. Rotate the tray 180 degrees halfway through. The baking temperature may need to be tested. I find that 160-170°C works best. Remove the shells from the oven and let them cool. I let them cool on the baking sheet to avoid moving them too much. After a few minutes, they come off the baking paper easily. Then refrigerate them for about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the filling. (I always use the cream cheese filling because it tastes best to me.) Mix the cream cheese with the powdered sugar. Optionally, color with food coloring. (I always add baking glitter.) Spoon the filling into the cooled shells and then press them together. (I always test beforehand to see which shells fit together.) Let the macarons cool for at least 5 hours. I simply refrigerate them again overnight.