Duo of Macarons

I've been meaning to make some macarons for a while now! Since I didn't have aged egg whites, I adapted a simple recipe for Almost Foolproof Macarons from The Food Geek.

Pink and Plain Macarons

Ingredients:

75g blanched almonds

75g almond slivers

150g powdered sugar

120g egg whites (about 4 eggs)

185g granulated sugar (150g + 35g)

50g water

Pink food coloring

Buttercream frosting

Prep. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper. Prepare 2 pastry bags for piping (I used a coupler with no tip attached to make the circles.)

Step 1 (The Meringue). In a small sauce pan, mix together 150g granulated sugar and 50g water. Boil the syrup to 230 degrees F.

Meanwhile, beat 60g egg whites to soft peaks in a stand mixer, then mix in 35g granulated sugar. 

Turn mixer to medium and slowly pour in the boiling syrup. Mix for 12 minutes.

Step 2 (Pink Batter). Grind 75g blanched almonds and 75g powdered sugar in a food processor, then transfer the mixture to a bowl. Combine with 30g eggs and pink food coloring. Carefully fold in half of the meringue that was prepared in Step 1. Pipe batter onto a lined cookie sheet.

Step 3 (Plain Batter). Grind 75g almond slivers with 75g powdered sugar. Combine with 30g egg whites. Fold in the rest of the meringue to this mixture and pipe batter onto a second cookie sheet.

Step 4. Bake at 320 degrees F for about 20 minutes.

Step 5. Attach pieces together with buttercream frosting.