The other day I was checking out the site My French Life, and I came across a post on a stroll in Paris, which featured a photo of a box of macarons. Reading further, I found a post on the website CakeJournal and decided to try to make my own.

My macarons.

Ingredients:

• 100 grams of almond flour (or grind your own)
• 100-110 grams egg whites (about 3-4 egg whites, depending on the size of your eggs), left out one day (cover dish with plastic wrap)
• 200 grams of powdered (icing) sugar
• 4 tablespoons of granulated sugar

Mix the icing sugar and almond flour together in a bowl. I used a whisk, but you can use a food processor too. It’s important to mix them thoroughly.

Beat the eggs, and as they get foamy, start putting in the granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time. Beat until the egg whites are glossy and stiff.

Fold in the almond flour and icing sugar mix using a spatula, and go slowly. Be careful not to overmix, or you’ll lose some of that nice fluffiness. When you’re done, it should look a cream colour, and be reasonably thick. Take this mixture and put it into a piping bag (pastry bag, to the Americans), and on cookie sheets covered with parchment paper, put 1-inch dollops of the batter. (Give them a bit of space, as they will spread a bit.)

Let the batter sit for one hour (yes, really–this was the hardest part for me, I wanted to get them baked!), and then put them in an oven that has been preheated to 300˚F (150˚C) for 10-12 minutes. I found that 10 minutes was enough to make them hard and just a touch golden.

I filled my macarons with chocolate ganache (I *love* chocolate), but you could use buttercream icing, or jam, or whatever else caught your fancy. Also, if you want to make your macarons chocolate, substitute a bit of cocoa powder in the dry mix. And don’t be afraid to experiment with colour dyes!

But, my favourite part about this recipe, aside from how delicious it is? It’s gluten-free.

Happy New Year! Bonne année!