Macarons (French Macaroons)
Macarons are made with finely ground almonds, confectioners' sugar, and egg whites. They are the most delicious soft cookies with crispy edges. I finally perfected the technique and wanted to share it. Pipe your choice of filling or frosting on a cookie and sandwich another cookie on top. 
egg whites
3
white sugar
¼
cup
confectioners' sugar
1 ⅔
cups
finely ground almonds
1
cup
 Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat.
  Beat egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment until foamy. Add white sugar and beat until egg whites are glossy, fluffy, and hold soft peaks.
  Sift confectioners' sugar and ground almonds in a separate bowl; quickly fold almond mixture into egg whites, about 30 strokes.
  Spoon a small amount of batter into a plastic bag with a small corner cut off and pipe a test disk of batter, about 1 1/2 inches in diameter, onto the prepared baking sheet. If the disk of batter holds a peak instead of flattening immediately, gently fold batter a few more times and retest.
  When batter is mixed enough to flatten immediately into an even disk, spoon into a pastry bag fitted with a plain round tip. Pipe batter onto the baking sheet in rounds, leaving space between the disks. Let piped cookies stand out at room temperature until they form a hard skin on top, about 1 hour.
  Preheat the oven to 285 degrees F (140 degrees C).
  Bake cookies in preheated oven until set but not browned, about 10 minutes.
  Let cookies cool completely before filling, about 30 minutes.
