SARAH DARLING’S TIFFANY VANILLA MACARONS

Just like my friend Sarah Darling, these French macarons are beautiful inside and out. These petite, brightly colored confections are the perfect creations of her dessert business, Sweet Darling Pâtisserie. Don’t feel intimidated about making macarons at home! Just follow Sarah’s advice: “Be sure not to overmix your batter, don’t bake on a rainy day, and practice makes perfect!”

1¼ cups almond flour

1¼ cups powdered sugar

3 egg whites, room temperature

⅓ cup superfine sugar

½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Blue food coloring

VANILLA BUTTERCREAM

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

2 cups powdered sugar, sifted

2 tablespoons heavy cream

1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped

Makes 20 macarons

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Line two baking sheets with baking mats or parchment paper.

2. In the bowl of a food processor, combine the almond flour and powdered sugar. Pulse several times. Remove the mixture from the food processor, and sift it into a large bowl.

3. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites on high speed. After about 20 seconds, turn the mixer to low and add the superfine sugar and vanilla. Return to high speed and beat for 6 minutes. After 6 minutes, add the food coloring one drop at a time, beating after each drop until the desired color is achieved and the color is even throughout the batter.

4. Remove the bowl from the mixer, and add the flour mixture all at once. Fold in the flour mixture with a rubber spatula until a smooth batter forms (the batter should look like ribbons coming off your spoon).

5. Transfer the mixture to a piping bag, and use a ¼-inch plain round tip to pipe 1¼-inch circles 1 inch apart, trying to keep them all the same size. Once all are piped, tap the baking sheet against the counter a couple times to release any air bubbles.

6. Leave the macarons at room temperature to dry for about 15 to 20 minutes until the tops have dulled. Bake on the bottom rack of the oven for approximately 10 minutes until set but not browned, opening the door once or twice to rotate the pan and let out steam (this prevents the macarons from cracking). Remove the pans from the oven and allow the macarons to cool.

7. While the macarons are cooling, prepare the vanilla buttercream. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar on medium speed. Once smooth, reduce the speed, and add the cream and the vanilla extract and seeds. Mix on medium speed until smooth.

8. Spoon the mixture into a clean piping bag. Pipe or spread the filling on the flat sides of half of the cookies; top them with the remaining half. Wrap the macarons in plastic and refrigerate.