Hazelnut Macaroons

We are 3 for 3 in our Macaroon Making adventures. Our third attempt was Hazelnut Macaroons. These were an easy choice because of my deep love of all things Nutella. Here's the recipe with a few pictures thrown in for fun.

Makes 16
Cast of characters:
-1/4 cup ground almonds
-1/4 cup finely ground hazelnuts, plus 1 Tbsp. chopped to decorate

-1 cup powdered sugar
-2 extra large egg whites
-1/4 cup sugar
-pink food coloring (optional)

Filling:
Hazelnut spread (Nutella)

Start by pouring yourself a glass of Macaroon wine...yes this exists! Then put the ground almonds, 1/4 cup hazelnuts and powdered sugar in a food processor and process for 15 seconds. Sift the mixture into a bowl. Go ahead and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper for later.

Place the egg whites in a bowl and whip until holding soft peaks. Gradually beat in the sugar to make a firm, glossy meringue. (This step might take longer than you think so just be patient and make sure the consistency is as stated above.)  We wanted to be girly so we added food coloring to make ours pink. Brown and pink is such a cute color combo, don't you think?

Using a spatula, fold the almond/hazelnut mixture into the meringue one third at a time. When all ingredients are incorporated, continue to cut and fold the mixture until it forms a shiny batter with a thick ribbon like consistency.

Pour the batter into a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2 inch/1 cm plain tip. Pipe 32 small circles onto the prepared baking sheets. Tap the baking sheets firmly onto a work surface to remove air bubbles (important step people!). Let them stand at room temperature for 30 minutes while the oven preheats to 325 degrees F.
Bake for 10-15 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes then carefully peel macaroons from parchment paper and let cool completely.

Sandwich pairs of macaroons together with Nutella...feel free to like your fingers and the spatula clean. Actually this is required.

If I haven't said it enough...you need to make macaroons ASAP!