A new baking adventure............macarons!

So, I am always on the look-out for new things to bake/make.  I'm not sure how I happened upon them, but I found link for a recipe for chocolate French macarons.  No, not macaroons (the coconut ones), but macarons (the meringue-like ones).  I've been getting adventurous lately with my baking.

I did not make up this recipe, lol, instead I found it here:  Chocolate French Macarons   Apparently there are several methods to making macarons.  This recipe is the French method with egg whites.  I don't know much about the other methods (or really this one either, lol).

Here is the recipe as given in the link above:

Chocolate Macarons
Makes about fifteen cookies
Adapted from The Sweet Life in Paris (Broadway) by David Lebovitz

Macaron Batter

• 1 cup (100 gr) powdered sugar
• ½ cup powdered almonds (about 2 ounces, 50 gr, sliced almonds, pulverized)
• 3 tablespoons (25 gr) unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
• 2 large egg whites, at room temperature
• 5 tablespoons (65 gr) granulated sugar

Here are my almonds, sugar, cocoa mixed together:

Here are my egg whites before they got to the correct consistency:

I had some issues with this.  First, I didn't think there was enough in my bowl, then it turned out my whip attachment was too high.  I eventually got medium-stiff egg whites after a lot of whipping!

Here are the baked cookies, some of which have been filled with the ganache recipe in the link:

Here they are all done!

I learned a few things after making these:  my egg whites needed to be stiffer, I didn't mix/fold my batter enough, and I should probably lower the baking temp a little.  I'm going to make another batch this week, so we'll see how they turn out!

Oh, and they taste awesome!!  Even better after a few days!