Chocolate Mint Macaroons

French macarons are delightful little treats, however, they take some practice and patience! I do not have good piping skills to say the least! I am working on ways to make my meringue sandwiches look more professional. In spite of all the imperfections, they tasted really good!

The macaroons are made from egg whites, ground almonds, superfine sugar and powdered sugar.

Not fancy ingredients for such a delicate bite-sized after dinner treat! Oven: 325 degrees for 10-15 min.

1 cup  confectioners' sugar

3/4 cup ground almonds~try Trader Joe's, already ground

1/4 cup superfine sugar

2 extra large egg whites, room temperature

1tsp. peppermint extract

green food coloring drops, to your liking

chocolate sprinkles for top portion of meringue

line cookie sheets with parchment paper

For the filling

4 T. unsalted butter

1/2 cup of confectioners' sugar

3 oz. melted milk chocolate bar, melted and then cooled

Process the ground almond meal and confection sugar in food processor for 20 seconds.Using a large sifter, gently sift out any large pieces of almond.Whip the eggs whites until they hold soft peaks and gradually add the superfine sugar. Beat in the peppermint extract and food coloring.Using a large spatula, fold dry ingredients into the egg whites, one third at a time and thoroughly incorporate and fold until all the almond mixture is well mixed. The batter will become shiny and thick with a ribbonlike consisitency. This may require at least ten good folding strokes.

The next step is tricky, well it was for me using a pastry bag. I kept squeezing it too hard an the filling kept exploding out of the bag! That's where the patience part came in for me! Fill the bag, using a 1/2inch/1-cm plain tip. Pipe circles onto the prepared baking sheets.( I drew circles to help me keep my portions close in size to one another)I got about 20 circles made. Top only the top portions you will use with the sprinkles or they will not sit flat. Let the batter on the sheets now sit for thirty minutes.You should be able to gently touch the surface without any batter sticking to your finger.

Bake for 10-15 minutes, depending on your oven. The macaroons are ready when they have a crisp shell. If the bottoms are still soft or sticky, try returning them into the oven for a few more minutes with the oven door ajar.

Cool completely. Carefully peel off the parchment paper and place on wire rack. Use the filling to hold macaroons together.( as much as you like)