Nutella French Macarons

Yields 12 macarons

Ingredients:

3 egg whites (room temperature)
¼ c. granulated sugar (superfine works best)
1 bourbon vanilla bean (sliced in half and scraped)
1 2/3 c. confectioner sugar
1 c. finely ground almonds (or almond meal)

Directions:

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 whites are foamy; beat in white sugar and scraped beans from a bourbon vanilla bean, continue beating until egg whites are glossy, fluffy, and hold soft peaks. Sift confectioners' sugar and ground almonds in a separate bowl and quickly fold the almond mixture into the 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 prepared baking sheet. If the disk of batter holds a peak instead of flattening immediately, gently fold the batter a few more times and retest.

When batter is mixed, spoon into a pastry bag fitted with a plain round tip. Pipe the batter onto the baking sheet in rounds, leaving space between the disks. Let the piped cookies stand out at room temperature until they form a hard skin on top, about 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 285 degrees F (140 degrees C).

Bake cookies until set but not browned, about 10 minutes; let cookies cool completely before filling.

Ingredients:

1 8oz. jar of Nutella

Directions:

Whip nutella with a whisk until smooth and creamy. Spread about 1 teaspoon of filling onto one macaron (be gentle, the macron is delicate and will crumble) sandwich another macaron on top. Enjoy!!!