Recipe of Today: Hazelnut Coffee Macarons

Ingredients (Make 5 dozens)

• 6 large egg whites
• 1 ½ cups toasted hazelnuts
• 2 ½ cups confectioners' sugar
• Dash salt
• 1/2 cup superfine sugar

Coffee Buttercream

• 1 cup sugar
• 6 tbsps water
• 6 large egg yolks
• 4 tsps instant espresso powder
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 ½ cups softened butter
• 6 tbsps confectioners' sugar

Instructions

• Put egg whites in a small bowl and let it stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Place hazelnuts and confectioners' sugar in your food processor, then pulse until nuts are finely ground.

• Add salt to egg whites and beat on medium speed until soft peaks form. Add superfine sugar gradually, 1 tbsp at a time, beating on high speed until stiff peaks form. Stir in the hazelnut mixture.

• Using a pastry bag, pipe 1-inch diameter by 2-inch diameter cookies onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake until lightly browned and firm to the touch for about 9 to 12 minutes. Transfer cookies on parchment paper to a wire rack to cool completely.

• For coffee buttercream, in a heavy saucepan, combine sugar and water. Bring to a boil and cook over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat source. Get a small bowl, whisk a small amount of hot syrup into egg yolks, then return everything to pot, whisking constantly. Cook until thickened for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add espresso powder and vanilla. Set aside to cool down.

• In your Kitchenin KM50 Stand Mixer with the whisk attachment, beat butter until creamy. Gradually add cooled syrup plus confectioners' sugar and beat until fluffy. Refrigerate until mixture firms to a spreading consistency, about 10 minutes.

• Spread 1 ½ tsps of cream on the bottoms of half of the cookies and top with the remaining cookies. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Enjoy!