Macaroons are usually made with almonds or coconuts, but hazelnuts or walnuts will do, too. Passover macaroons turn into French ones when sandwiched with cream.
My macaroon recipe is my own invention. I tried to check with others to see if I do it properly, and was surprised to learn how difficult it seems. Even if my recipe is "not right", it tastes great, it never fails, and it is kosher.
1/2 to 3/4 cup of nuts, one sheet of matzo (or two tablespoons of flour), 4 large eggs (or five whites and two yolks when I have leftover whites from making challah), less then 1/2 cup of sugar, a pinch of cream of tartar, a drop of almond extract. Parchment paper (siliconized preferable). Makes a cookie sheet of macaroons, about 20 pieces.
Preheat oven to 350F. Line the sheet with the paper.
In a food processor, grind almonds together with matzo or flour into coarse uneven mixture. If you don't have the food processor, put nuts and broken matzo in a plastic bag and crush it with the roller pin.
Separate the eggs. Fresh eggs separate easier than ones approaching their "best before" date. I crack an egg with the knife's spine, break the shell in two halves and let the white flow into the bowl while catching the yolk between the shell halves. It's hard to explain but easy to do, only your fingers get soiled with egg. Keep the yolks in a small bowl.
Beat the egg whites with the half of sugar until hard peaks form. Don't overbeat and don't despair if you did, it will be fine. To avoid any egg white-beating problem, start with cleanly separated whites at room temperature and a clean, dry deep steel bowl. Copper is best but mostly extinct, glass or enamel will work. Beat with a pinch of cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Gradually add sugar and keep beating. It takes about ten minutes in a large stand mixer, fifteen or so with the less powerful one.
Add the remaining sugar and the almond extract to the yolks and beat together (I use the small electric mixer) until the mixture is smooth, pale and doubled in volume. Add some whites to the yolks and fold in to lift the yolks, then put the yolks on top of the remaining whites, add the almond-matzo mixture and fold in. Scoop the mixture with a tablespoon and push with another spoon on the cookie sheet. Put the sheet in te oven. After 15 minutes, reduce the heat to 270F (no need to be precise) and keep in the oven for another half an hour. The macaroons are flat like cookies, but light, crunchy, and foamy.
To make them French: chop 1/2 -- 1 bar of 85% dark chocolate. Bring a cup of the heavy whipping cream to the boil, pour over the chocolate, stir until all pieces melt and let it stand for fifteen minutes. Stir again, until perfectly smooth. Let it cool to the room temperature and put in the fridge. When cool, beat slightly, adding the cold cream if necessary. Sandwich the creem between macaroons and let it stiffen for ten-fifteen minutes.
See also: kitchen, stand mixer, dark chocolate, chocolate mousse, chocolate truffles, lemon pie, organic sugar.