French Macaroons

Came back from a visit in England, make me drooling for some french macaroons. Anita always bought the macaroons from Laduree in London and they are sweet and delicious. This is a big challenge for me to bake my own macaroons.

Ingredients:
6 oz slivered blanched almonds (2 cups)
1 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
3 large egg whites
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
Red and green food coloring

Pulse almonds with 1/2 cup confectioners sugar in a food processor until very finely ground, 2 to 3 minutes, then transfer to a bowl. Sift in remaining cup confectioners sugar, stirring to combine.

Beat egg whites with an electric mixer at medium speed until they just hold soft peaks. Add granulated sugar, a little at a time, beating, then increase speed to high and continue to beat until whites just hold stiff, glossy peaks.

Stir almond mixture into meringue with a rubber spatula until completely incorporated. (Meringue will deflate.)  Divide batter into 3 bowls.
Add a drop of food coloring and leave one bowl plain.
Spoon batter into bag, pressing out excess air, and snip off 1 corner of plastic bag to create a 1/4-inch opening.

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
Twist bag firmly just above batter, then pipe peaked mounds of batter (the size of a chocolate kiss) onto lined sheets.
Let cookies stand, uncovered, at room temperature until tops are no longer sticky and a light crust forms, 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, put oven racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 300°F.

Bake cookies, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until crisp and edges are just slightly darker, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool completely on sheets on racks, about 30 minutes.

For the ganache, I am using ready to use butter creme filling.

Assemble cookies:
Carefully peel cookies from parchment (they will be fragile). Sandwich a thin layer of ganache (about 1/2 teaspoon) between flat sides of cookies.

As you can see from the pictures above, my macaroons didn't turn out quite right. Some are smooth and some are not due to uneven heat in my oven and also due to the open method to switch the cookies rack.
I also need to practice more to create the round shape.
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