MACARONS

This tasty little pastry has had quite the resurgence of late, featured at all kind of fashion events and tearooms. However it can often be portrayed as a difficult project in the kitchen so here  at Coggles we'd like to share a recipe for the perfect little macaron, or four, or five. This recipe should make anywhere between 10 - 15, so eat your heart out!

Tip: It's a good idea to create a template for your macarons or to buy a specially designed macaron mat. These are plain macarons but if you want to create a lovely rainbow of treats, add the food colouring to the egg whites before whisking! Just be sure to use it sparingly. It's also a good idea to experiment with different fillings for different colours - raspberry/strawberry for pink, pistachio for green, vanilla for cream!

-100g icing sugar -100g ground almonds -2 medium free range egg whites -Small pinch salt -55g caster sugar (Food colouring - optional) For the filling 150g unsalted softened butter 75g powder sugar

Piping bag with 1cm nozzle

Preheat the oven to 160 C (140 C for a regular oven)

- Sieve the icing sugar and ground almonds into a large mixing bowl -Carefully mix the two together - In a separate bowl whisk the egg whites and salt together until they start to peak. -Sieve in the caster sugar gradually, continuing to whisk until the egg whites thicken. You want to do this until they are really really thick mind you! -Gently stir in the icing sugar and almonds so that it makes a paste -Spoon into the piping bag. Pipe a little into your macaron tray or onto a baking tray lined with baking paper in the corners, this should stop it sliding around. -Hold the bag vertically and pipe flat circles (approx 4cm) onto the lined tray. Keep twisting the bag as you go along to push down the mixture for ease. -Ensure the circles don't have any tips from the piping bag - you can get rid of these by giving the tray a few slams on the table or wiping off with a butter knife. -Leave to stand for 30 minutes so that they form a skin -Use this time to make your filling, whipping the butter and sugar together. You can add other flavours here too if you'd like! -After the 30 mins has passed, bake in the oven for 15 minutes with the door slightly ajar until they become firm. -Let the macaroons cool and sandwich together with the filling.

They should be ready to eat from here, but if you want to get them extra firm and chewy - leave in the fridge overnight. Et Voila!

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