Espresso Macarons

In a food processor, combine almond flour, confectioners’ sugar and espresso.

Pulse until well combined and very finely ground. Pour into a large bowl.

Put through a sieve 2 times. Discard any remains in the sieve that won’t go through. It should be only approximately 1 teaspoon or so.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat egg whites on medium speed for 15-30 seconds until very foamy.

Add the cream of tartar and continue beating the whites until well blended and soft peaks form.

While beating on medium high speed add superfine sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time.

Turn the mixer down to medium speed and add the vanilla extract. Beat until well blended.

Beat the mixture on high speed for approximately 2 minutes until mixture forms stiff peaks.

Remove bowl from the motor and, using a rubber spatula, fold in dry ingredients in two or three additions.

Using the rubber spatula, press the batter with the flat side of the spatula and smear the batter through the middle of the bowl and up the sides. This is called macaronage.

Repeat smearing batter up the sides of the bowl, rotating the bowl as you smear, until batter falls in a ribbon and flows like thick lava when the spatula is lifted out of the bowl. This should take approximately 2-3 minutes or approximately 20-30 times of smearing.

Place batter into a pastry bag fitted with a large, ½ inch diameter round tip.

Pipe batter onto 2 macaron Silpat mats with circles already traced on them and set into a sheet pan. The diameter of the circles will vary. Or trace 1 ½ inch diameter circles on 2 pieces of parchment paper fitted into 2 large sheet pans. Do not fill the circles completely as batter will spread.

If you are using parchment paper, before piping macarons, take a small dab of batter and place it in each corner of the two sheet pans. Place the parchment paper into the sheet pans and press down so that the parchment adheres to the pan.

Pipe a round of batter onto each marked circle, on the sheet pans, while swirling the pastry bag slightly as you lift it off creating a smooth surface.

Gently bang sheet pans on countertop to pop any tiny bubbles in the macaron batter.

Dust each macaron with a little espresso powder put through a sieve.

Allow macarons to sit at room temperature for approximately 40-45 minutes to allow them to create a skin. This will help keep their smooth shape.

Bake the macarons, 1 sheet at a time, on the middle rack for approximately 7 minutes. Rotate sheet pan and return to oven. Continue baking for another 7 minutes. Be careful because some ovens run hot. Macarons are done when they do not wiggle when gently moved from side to side. If they do not appear done, continue baking them for a few more minutes. Continue baking until the macarons are baked. This can be a touchy process depending on your oven and how hot it runs.

When the macarons are completely baked, remove them from the oven and cool completely on the sheet pans. Do not try to remove them while warm.

Using a small offset spatula, gently remove the macarons from the Silpat mats or parchment paper.

Line a clean sheet pan with wax paper to place the macarons once they are filled.

Bring heavy cream to a boil in a small saucepan.

Add chocolate chips to cream and whisk until the mixture is nice and smooth.

Transfer ganache to a small bowl and allow it to thicken at room temperature until mixture can be piped. Putting the ganache in the refrigerator and stirring it every 15 minutes will speed up this process. Do not allow it to get too thick or it will not be able to be piped.

Fill a pastry bag fitted with a medium round pastry tip half full of ganache.

Pipe some ganache onto the flat bottoms of half the macarons and cover the ganache with another macaron flat side against the ganache. Place the filled macarons onto the wax paper lined sheet pan to set up.

Repeat filling remaining macarons. Place macarons in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to three days.