1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

2. Separate the eggs and retain the egg whites – be sure that there is no yolk, or they will not whip up. Beat egg whites until foamy in the bowl of the mixer with the whisk attachment, about one minute. Add in the meringue powder (optional).

3. Slowly add granulated sugar in three increments and mix well after every addition on medium speed. Once all the sugar has been combined, increase the speed to medium / high and mix for another five minutes. Mixture should be very stiff peaks and balled up in the whisk attachment and pulling away from the sides of the bowl.

4. Combine almond flour, powdered sugar, cocoa powder and egg white powder (optional) together in a fine mesh strainer and gently sieve, leaving behind any larger chunks and discarding.

5. Pour the sifted dry ingredients into the whipped mixture and stir only enough to incorporate. From here, slowly start to fold, deflating the mixture and occasionally checking for consistency. Take special care to scrap the bottoms and sides of the bowl to ensure no dry ingredients are hiding. To check the consistency, pull a scoop of the mixture up with your spatula and let the mixture drop back into the bowl.

6. This is not the time to take out your aggression – treat it nicely and mix gently! When it’s ready, it should flow nicely off the spatula, ribboning as it falls and then re-incorporating back into the mixture within about a 20 second count. The mixture should be the consistency of lava. Too few turns will result in tall macarons with a “peak”. Too many turns will result in the macarons spreading outward like traditional cookies rather than upward to get the nice, ruffled edges (feet).

7. Transfer batter to a pastry bag fitted with a large round metal tip. If you do not have a tip, then just a straight cut across will do. Also, if you do not have a pastry bag, a Ziploc will also work.
8. Prepare your baking pan by turning it upside down if it has a rim to it. Place your mat on the pan or your template with parchment paper covering it.
9. Holding the bag approximately ½ inch above the template and perpendicular to the pan, using the center as a bullseye in the center and slowly squeeze the bag, keeping it in one place until the mixture reaches the inner circle of the template (provided). The mixture should settle to the outer line. Pipe out all the rounds until all batter has been used.
10. Take the entire baking sheet with the piped rounds on it and firmly hit the sheet on the counter several times, releasing any air bubbles and settling the batter. Any stubborn air bubbles can be popped with a toothpick.
11. Allow the piped rounds to rest for at least 30 minutes (that’s for our climate in the Colorado mountains. Higher humidity areas will need to increase this rest time). The tops should no longer be sticky/tacky. Sacrifice one shell to test by gently touching the surface. If it sticks to your finger, it’s not ready yet. Allow it to rest until you can touch it without sticking to your finger.
12. Once they have rested for about 30 minutes, place the tray in the oven and bake for 12 minutes. If baking more than one tray at a time, make sure to rotate the pans halfway through the cooking time. Let them cool on the pan. When cooled, very gently remove from baking sheet. Store in an airtight container stacked on their sides until ready to fill.

Chocolate Ganache Filling

1. In a microwave safe bowl, heat the dark chocolate chips and heavy cream for 1 minute. Remove and stir thoroughly. If needed, heat for an additional 15-30 seconds and stir well again until all chocolate chips have melted and the mixture is smooth. Transfer the ganache to a piping bag and allow to cool until ready to assemble.
2. When ready to assemble, lay out the macaron shells and partner up with similar size shells. Fill one half of the shells with a the ganache. Pipe a mound in the center and then top with the remaining shell to create the cookie sandwich.
3. Place the chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl and heat in 15 second increments and stir well between each interval until the mixture is smooth. Transfer to a pastry bag.
4. Cut a small hole in the end of the chocolate bag and pipe two antlers, two eyes and a nose on each macaron. Place a red candy on the nose, if desired, to create a Rudolph reindeer.