Measure out the almond flour and powdered sugar and pour them onto a baking sheet together. Spread them out over the surface of the baking sheet and cover with either paper towels or a sheet of parchment paper. Leave on the counter overnight. This will allow the almond flour to dry out before making the macarons.

Also, at least 12 hours before you want to make the macarons, take three large eggs, crack them open and separate the whites from the yolks. Do not let any yolk get in with the whites. The egg whites will not whip properly if any yolk is mixed in with them. Place a paper towel over the egg whites and allow them to sit out on the counter overnight until you are ready to bake the macarons the next day.

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper, or Silpat.

If you would like to have uniform macarons, find a small lid or circle cookie cutter to trace on the backside of the parchment paper to serve as a pattern. The standard macaron size is 1 1/2" in diameter. Make sure to leave 1" of space between the circles to create room for them to spread out after being piped. They also sell Silpat baking mats with the macaron circles already present.

Prepare a large piping bag fitted with a 3/8" round tip. 

If you don't have a piping bag, a large Ziplock freezer bag will work too.

First, take the baking sheet of almond flour and powdered sugar and carefully pour it into a food processor. Add the 1/4 tsp of salt. Process for 10-20 seconds. This will help to get rid of some larger almond flour bits.

Use a fine-mesh strainer and sift the mixture from the food processor into a large mixing bowl.

This step will make sure to eliminate any large almond pieces left and help the macaron shells to be smooth.

Remove 2 tbsp of egg whites placing them in a small bowl, and set them aside. 

Pour the rest of the egg whites into your Kitchenaid mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and turn it on low speed.

While the egg whites are frothing at low speed, in a small saucepan, over medium heat, stir together the sugar, water, and corn syrup.

Stir gently and only until ingredients are dissolved together, you don't want to splash the sugar up onto the sides of the pan as it will crystalize, fall back into the pan and then potentially crystalize the whole mixture.

It won't take long for the syrup to start boiling, so at this point turn your mixer speed to high and start beating the egg whites.

Use your thermometer to check the temperature of the syrup. Once it reaches 244 degrees immediately remove it from the heat.

Carefully, while the mixer is still whipping the egg whites, pour a small steady stream of the hot syrup into the egg whites. The syrup needs to go right into the egg whites.

Try to pour the syrup out of the reach of the whisk, but also not down the side of the bowl. If it runs down the cold side of the bowl it will harden and create a terrible crystallized mess. Alternatively, if it's hitting your whisk, it will spray out onto the sides of the mixing bowl and create a hardened mess.

Once all of the syrup is added to the egg whites, add in a small drop of burgundy gel food coloring or as much coloring as you'd like to achieve the color of shell you want!

Continue to whip on high speed for another 1 1/2" minutes, and then 3 minutes on medium speed, while you start the macaronage.

Mix the 2 tbsp of egg whites, that were set aside earlier, into the almond flour and powdered sugar until no dry ingredients remain. It will form a stiff lump of dough.

The meringue is ready when you lift the whisk from the batter and stiff peaks form.

Remove the Italian meringue from the mixer and scrape it all into the bowl with the almond flour. Gently fold the meringue into the almond flour dough until everything is thoroughly combined.

You will know the mixture is ready to be piped when you lift up the rubber spatula, drip some of the mixture on top of itself, and wait 15 seconds to see if it dissolves back into the batter. 

You don't want to over mix and cause it to be runny, but if it is too thick the macaron shells won't be shaped correctly. If it doesn't, mix it for another 20 seconds and try again. 

When it's ready, pour the mixture into the piping bag.

Pipe the batter straight down into the middle of the circle until the batter reaches the edges of the circle. Stop squeezing the piping bag before lifting up and moving on to the next one.

Once the whole tray has been piped, lift the baking sheet up and drop it back on your counter to tap out any air bubbles that might be trapped in the batter. Repeat this 5 times. 

This will help prevent the macarons from cracking.

If needed, you can use a toothpick to pop any remaining bubbles that are visible on the surface of the macaron.

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. 

Allow the macarons to sit on the counter anywhere from 20-60 minutes to dry out. They will be ready to bake when the tops are shiny and dry to the touch.

Drying them out before baking is what creates the classic macaron feet.

After the macarons have dried out and are ready to bake, place them on the middle rack of the oven and bake at 300 degrees for 15 minutes or until the tops of the macarons look set and don't wiggle when you shake the pan. Bake one sheet at a time.

Allow the macarons to cool completely before trying to remove them from the parchment paper or Silpat.

In your KitchenAid mixer, combine all the ingredients for the buttercream. Stir with a rubber spatula until most of the powdered sugar is combined with the other ingredients. Then using the whisk attachment, whip until light and fluffy.

Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a 1/4" round tip.

Pair up all of the macaron shells. Pipe frosting onto the flat side of one of the paired up shells for each cookie. Pipe the frosting just short of the edge of the macaron shell. 

Place the second shell on top of the frosting and press together until the frosting just smooshes to the edge. 

Repeat until all the macarons are frosted and paired together.

Let the frosted macarons sit for at least 20 minutes before eating, but they are usually best after they have sat in the fridge for a day!