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For an authentic French-style macaroons recipe, we found it best to purchase almond flour; though it was possible to grind almonds in a food processor, the result had a coarser texture. We determined that the ultra-fine powdery texture of confectioners’ sugar, as well as the small percentage of cornstarch that it contains, gave our macaroons recipe the fine texture we desired. We took the advice of one recipe and tried processing the almond flour and confectioners’ sugar together in a food processor to further pulverize the mixture, if that was possible. Surprisingly, this worked, and the cookies were even more delicate and refined, with just the right amount of chew.
If you can’t find almond flour (sold in well-stocked grocery stores and specialty stores), substitute 11 ounces of slivered almonds, processed to a fine flour in a food processor; continue to process with the sugar as directed in step 1. Allow the piped cookies to stand as directed to allow a skin to form in step 4—this skin prevents the cookies from cracking the oven, ensuring a smooth finished cookie. You should be able to portion all 40 cookies between 2 standard-sized baking sheets. If not, use 3 sheets. Note that you must bake only 1 sheet at a time for the cookies to bake evenly. Instead of using buttercream for the filling, you can substitute 4 ounces of bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled, or 1 1/4 cups of fruit preserves, pureed until smooth.
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