Red Velvet Macarons with Cream Cheese Buttercream

For the macarons:

1. Line 2 half sheet pans with parchment paper or Silpat liners. Set aside.

2. Fill a bowl with hot water from the faucet (it should be about 105 F). Put the eggs (in the shell) in the water and let them sit until they come to room temperature. Check them and turn them over every few minutes so they can come up to temperature on both sides. They’re ready when they don’t feel hot or cold to the touch. You may need to add more hot water into the bowl if they’re not warming up fast enough. Once the eggs are the right temperature, remove them from the water and dry them off. Crack the eggs and separate the yolks from the whites, measuring 2 1/2 ounces of egg whites for this recipe (you don’t need the yolks for this recipe). Put the egg whites in a medium bowl and set aside.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk or sift together the powdered sugar, almond meal, cocoa powder and salt (or you can pulse it together a few times in a food processor). Set aside.

4. Use a handheld electric mixer to whip the egg whites. When the egg whites are foamy (this should only take a few seconds), gradually add the superfine sugar while still beating. When you have stiff, glossy peaks, beat in the vanilla extract and red food color.

5. Use a rubber spatula to gently fold the almond meal mixture into the egg whites. Only fold the batter in one direction by sliding the spatula into the center of the batter, then lifting it up and letting the batter fall back onto itself. It generally takes about 50 strokes to work the batter, but this number isn’t as important as how the batter looks. The batter is ready to pipe when it has a smooth, shiny surface and flows like lava in one large ribbon off the spatula. Here is an easy way to see if the batter is ready: Use a rubber spatula to lift and drop the batter onto itself. If the ribbon gradually disappears into the batter within 30 seconds, it’s ready to go. If not, keep folding a bit longer.

6. Pour the batter into a pastry bag fitted with a round tip (1/2 inch in diameter). Hold the piping bag straight (i.e. at a 90 degree angle) above the prepared baking sheet and pipe 1-inch circles onto the prepared sheet. You should get about 40 macarons. Leave about 1 inch between each macaron. Tap each tray a couple times on the countertop to help flatten out the macarons and get rid of any air bubbles. The macarons should not have points on top.

7. Let the macarons sit at room temperature until they form a shell that’s dry to the touch (this could take anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours or more, depending on the weather).

8. Once the macarons are dry to the touch, preheat oven to 300 F. Once the oven is preheated, bake both trays at the same time for 10 to 20 minutes, rotating trays once. Bake time will vary based on your oven. Macarons should be firm when done. When done, remove the pans from the oven. Let the macarons cool completely on the pans before removing them.

9. To fill the macarons, pair up similar sized cookies. Pipe the buttercream onto the bottom of one macaron, then place the matching macaron on top.

10. Line an airtight lidded container with parchment paper and carefully arrange the macarons inside. Let them sit in the fridge for a day or two (or up to a couple weeks) before eating. Let the cookies sit at room temperature for about 45 minutes before serving.

For the buttercream:
Use a handheld electric mixer to beat together the butter, cream cheese, and vanilla Once it’s light and combined, add the powdered sugar and beat until smooth.