Small-Batch Macarons

Step 1

First, let the egg whites come to room temperature in a medium bowl.

Step 2

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper (it works better for me than a silicone mat when it comes to macarons). Make sure the paper fits into the pan perfectly--any buckled paper around the edges will make the cookies spread unevenly and slide.

Step 3

Meanwhile, sift together the almond flour and powdered sugar into a medium bowl.

Step 4

Begin to beat the egg whites on medium speed using a hand-mixer until foamy, about 10 seconds. Then, start slowly adding the meringue powder while constantly beating.

Step 5

Beat the egg whites and meringue powder until soft peaks form, about 1-2 minutes. This will depend on your mixer speed, but be careful not to over-mix. The peaks are soft when you lift the beaters and the egg whites flop over.

Step 6

Once the egg whites have soft peaks, turn off the mixer.

Step 7

Add 1/3 of the almond-sugar mixture and begin to gently fold it in using a small spatula. Take your time: proper folding technique is carefully folding around the sides and cutting through the middle occasionally. The idea is to not stir too hard and deflate the air you just whipped into the egg whites.

Step 8

Repeat with the remaining almond-sugar mixture two more times, until completely incorporated.

Step 9

Finally, stir in the vanilla.

Step 10

Scrape the batter into a piping bag with a 1/2" tip (or use a plastic bag with the corner snipped off). The batter will be thick.

Step 11

Pipe the batter into 1" little mounds (about the size of a large Hershey's kiss), and let sit. While they sit, they should flatten out. Leave 2" between each cookie for air circulation.

Step 12

Let the cookies rest on the baking pan for at least 30 minutes. Test to see if they are tacky--if you touch the cookies gently and the batter sticks to your finger, they're not ready. They should be dry to the touch. On humid days, it can take 45 minutes.

Step 13

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 300 (or 290 if you have a gas oven that runs hot like mine). Bake the cookies for 13 minutes, until their little feet have risen and the tops are dry.

Step 14

Remove from the oven and let cool near the oven (drastic temperature changes can cause cracks).

Step 15

Once cool, pop the cookies off the sheet, spread with jam and sandwich together.