French Macaroons

Directions

1. 1
   Beat egg whites with the 2 tablespoons and 1/2 teaspoon sugar until stiff peaks form.
2. 2
   Meanwhile sift together nut meal flour, powdered sugar, and pinch of salt.
3. 3
   Carefully fold egg whites into flour mixture.
4. 4
   Spoon half of the batter into a pastry bag with a 1/4 tip.
5. 5
   Pipe small cookie rounds measuring 1 1/2 in diameter on lightly greased wax paper that has been set on top of cookie sheets.
6. 6
   Repeat the process with the remaining batter.
7. 7
   Set cookies aside and allow to rest at room temperature for 20 minutes.
8. 8
   At about 15 minutes, preheat the oven to 375F.
9. 9
   At 20 minutes, place first baking sheet in the oven on the middle rack and bake for 5 minutes.
10. 10
    Then lower heat to 325F and bake an additional 8-10 minutes or until tops of the macaroons turn golden brown.
11. 11
    Repeat the process with the second baking sheet.
12. 12
    Carefully remove the wax paper with cookies from the hot sheets and onto the kitchen counter to cool.
13. 13
    Use any sort of filling to create macaroon sandwich cookies.
14. 14
    I used a burnt caramel filling, but ganache, jams, buttercream, or just about anything will do.