Combine almond flour and confectioners sugar. Sift through sieve until powdery with no clumps. You want batter to be smooth

Set aside and whisk egg whites on medium speed for 2 minutes. (soft peaks) Stop, Add granulated sugar and then whisk again for 2 minutes on high. Stop, add vanilla extract and mix for another 30 seconds on high. (stiff peaks)

Now, incorporate almond flour mixture into egg whites. Carefully fold where texture is smooth but not too runny. A good way, I find, to check is to draw a figure eight with the batter: if too firm, it will barely drip... If too runny, it will continually drip. Find a happy medium, for this is one of the trickiest parts of baking the shells.

Once folded, take a piping bag and pour a drop of red food coloring down opposite sides of the bag. Then add batter. This should create spiral red effect once piped

Then pipe 1 to 1 and 1/2 inch size shells about 11 or 12 to each baking sheet. Try to make sure they are even all around and not too clumpy. You can attempt to remove bumps with a toothpick. To remove air bubbles, tap the baking sheet on hard surface a few times.

This step is essential to acquire traditional macaron 'feet'- the chewy risen batter underneath the shells. Let rest for about 30 minutes or until you can gently touch the tops of the shells from the film they should form.

Once film is formed, place cookies in oven for 10-12 min (325) rotating half way. After baking, let cool for 5 minutes than transfer to cooling rack to dry completely.

For the ganache, combine chocolate chips and cream in a bowl and microwave for 30 second increments until smooth and combined. Let chill for about 30 mins.

After all that waiting, finally the moment you've been waiting for 😂 assembling and decorating! Before piping, I would suggest pairing your macarons into full cookies. Fill a piping bag with ganache (should be firm but pipeable) and dollup the base of each cookie's shell. Press the top gently down where chocolate oozes out slightly to then be rolled in peppermint pieces.

It's a lot of hard work and waiting but the end result is worth it! Although they may not look as pretty as desired, I can guarantee they taste sweet and Christmasy! Happy baking!