Ingredients

Let’s Cook!

• 1
  Sift the almond meal and powdered sugar into a medium bowl. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in 15 g of egg whites. Fold the mixture together until combined. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside.
  
• 2
  Heat granulated sugar and water in a pot over medium heat with a candy thermometer attached to the side. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat to medium and continue cooking until the mixture reaches 235˚F (113˚C)
• 3
  Once the mixture starts to boil, pour the remaining 15 g of egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer and whisk on a medium speed. Add in a pinch cream of tartar to help stabilize the meringue and continue to mix at a medium speed until soft peaks form.
• 4
  Remove the sugar syrup from heat once reaches 235˚F (113˚C) and slowly pour the syrup down the side of the mixing bowl into the meringue on a medium speed. Once the syrup is fully mixed in, increase the mixing speed to high and mix until glossy, stiff peaks form. Mix in the gel food coloring in this step. There should be a tiny bend in the peak of your meringue when the whisk is lifted.
  
• 5
  Mix the meringue into the almond/powdered sugar mixture in three additions. Once the meringue is mixed in, fold the batter in a circular motion until thick ribbons of batter run off the spatula when it's lifted. Be careful not to over mix the batter!
  
• 6
  Transfer batter to a large piping bag fit with a medium sized round piping tip and pipe 1 1/4 inch rounds on the prepared baking sheets. Holding the baking sheet with both hands, carefully bang the sheet firmly on the counter a few times to get rid of any air bubbles. (If you don’t release the air bubbles, they will expand during baking and crack your macaron shells)
  
• 7
  Let the macarons rest and dry for 30 minutes or until a skin has developed; on a humid day, it might take an hour or more. To see if they're ready to be baked, lightly touch the shells. If the batter doesn’t stick to your finger, then it’s ready.
• 8
  While the macarons are resting, preheat the oven to 325˚F (163˚C), no fan, and position the oven rack in the center of the oven. Bake the macarons, for 10-12 minutes, rotating the pan once halfway through the baking process.
• 9
  Remove from oven and let the macarons cool on the pan then gently remove them from the mat. (If the bottoms are a tiny bit sticky, keep them on the tray to cool off for an additional 10 minutes. If, however, the bottoms are already brown, they peel off cleanly, or they appear over-baked, then carefully take them off the tray immediately to cool down)
• 10
  Tequila Lime Curd: in a large mixing bow, whisk egg and egg white until very smooth. Add remaining sugar and corn starch and mix until corn starch is no longer visible. Set aside.
• 11
  In a small saucepan and pour lime juice, tequila, orange liqueur, and about half of sugar and bring to a boil.
• 12
  Pour half of boiled mixture into egg mixture and whisk rapidly. Pour it back into the saucepan and whisk constantly until it boils and makes visible thick bubbles. Remove from heat and let cool until 130°F (54°C - lukewarm).
• 13
  Add soft butter and stir until butter dissolves. If butter refuses to dissolve, place bowl for about 5 seconds in a microwave oven and stir smooth.
• 14
  Place in refrigerator until curd is firm. Once firm, fill a pastry bag with a small round tip and pipe curd on half of macarons. Sandwich macarons and store in the refrigerator. Best to enjoy the next day!