First, prepare your workspace by sifting almond flour and powdered sugar together to ensure smoothness. Preheat your oven to 300°F (150°C). This step sets the foundation for those perfect cotton candy macarons shells.

Second, whip egg whites with granulated sugar until stiff peaks form, ensuring a glossy meringue just like the directions suggest. For more tips on meringue, check out this helpful guide on meringue basics on our site.

Third, gently fold the dry ingredients into the meringue, adding cotton candy flavoring to infuse that unique taste.

Now, pipe the batter onto a parchment-lined baking sheet, tap to remove air bubbles, and let it rest. Bake and cool as directed, then make the filling by heating egg whites and sugar, adding butter, and folding in the extract.

Assemble by pairing shells and piping filling, then mature in the fridge. This process, including prepping for about 1 hour and baking for 18 minutes, yields around 20 filled macarons. For external inspiration, visit Sally’s Baking Addiction for French macaron tips to refine your skills.

One trick I learned is to let the batter rest just right it’s like giving your cotton candy macarons time to breathe. Don’t skip maturing them; it really improves the texture, as I discovered after a few tries.