• First, set out all your ingredients a couple hours before you are ready to start. You want the egg whites to be at room temperature and also the butter for your buttercream filling. You can just leave the whole eggs out if you want and separate the yolks later or do it now.
• Next, you are going to sift the almond flour and powdered sugar together in a large bowl. Make sure you don’t let any clumps go into the mixture.
• In a separate large bowl, add in the egg whites and start beating with your electric mixer on medium speed. You want them to get frothy, white in color, and bubbly. Now, you will add the granulated sugar in increments. I usually do it in 3 increments to make sure the eggs have time to get fluffy.With the hand mixer, this process can take 8-12 minutes.
• When the egg whites start to look super fluffy, you can add in a few drops of the optional food coloring. Continue to whisk at medium speed until stiff peaks form (see picture in step by step above or watch video).
• Next, you are going to fold in one half of the dry ingredients in. Use a spatula and gently folded the mixture for a few minutes until you don't see anymore of the sugar and almond flour mixture.
• Now add in the last of the dry ingredients and continue to gently fold it until the mixture becomes runnier and runnier. This will take a few minutes but you also do not want to over mix. You will know if you are done when you can make a figure 8 shape with the batter and it doesn’t brea(see picture in step-by-step above or watch video). It should be a fluid motion as you make the 8 shape. If it breaks, then you need to fold for a little longer.
• Now, transfer the mixture to a piping bag with a rounded tip. In your baking tray lined with parchment paper or silicone mat, start piping circles as evenly ad you can. Start from the middle and when the desired size is reached then pull the piping bag up to make a dollop and go on to the next one.Now drop your tray 3-5 times to get rid of any air bubbles in your macarons. Then, you can use a toothpick to pop any remaining bubblers, if any.
• Let the macaroons rest for 30 minutes to an hour. You will know they are ready when you touch them and they are completely dry. Preheat the oven to 285 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Bake for 20-25 minutes depending on your oven. Keep an eye on them but try not to open the oven door until the 20 minute mark. You know when they are ready when you try to move one on the pan and it doesn’t budge. If the macaron is wobbly, it needs a few more minutes. Be gentle here though because you don’t want the tops to crack! These are very delicate. Take the macaroons out of the oven and let them cool completely before decorating.

For the Vanilla Bean Buttercream

• In a large bowl, cream your unsalted butter on medium speed until it becomes fluffy and white in color. Make sure to scrape the sides regularly to make sure it gets fully whipped.
• Now add 1 tablespoon of the vanilla bean extract and start mixing again. Next, add the powdered sugar in 3 batches as you continue to whip.
• Lastly, add 2-4 tablespoons of milk or heavy cream depending on how thick you want it, and let it whip for another 3-5 minutes until light and fluffy.
• Now after the macaroons are cooled, use a spatula to remove them from the pan. Make sure you are gentle because the tops crack very easily! If you crack one you can always save it to use for the bottom since no one will see it anyway! You can pipe the filling with an open star tip or whatever tip you have on hand. This is optional but you can coat the sides of the macrons with sprinkles! Now you can finally enjoy your macrons!