Peach Macarons

1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Line three large cookie sheets with parchment paper. On a fourth sheet of parchment paper, use a permanent marker to draw 1 1/2-inch circles, 1 inch apart. Set aside.

   Meringue:

2. Fill a 2-qt. saucepan with 1 1/2 inches water. Bring to boiling over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low to maintain a gentle simmer. In the metal bowl of a stand mixer combine 90 g egg whites, 127 grams granulated sugar, salt, and cream of tartar. Place bowl over simmering water, making sure the water does not touch bottom of bowl. Cook 8 to 10 minutes or until sugar is dissolved (about 150°F), stirring constantly with a rubber or silicon spatula.

3. Return bowl to stand mixer. Using the whisk attachment, beat egg white mixture on high 8 to 10 minutes or until stiff peaks form (tips stand straight) and bowl is cool to the touch. Add vanilla and 2 drops orange coloring the last 1 minute of beating.

Almond Flour Paste:

1. Meanwhile, using a coarse-mesh sieve, sift together almond flour and powdered sugar into a large bowl. Discard any larger pieces (up to 1 Tbsp.) that remain in sieve. Add 80 g egg whites to flour mixture and stir with a spatula until a thick paste forms. The mixture may seem crumbly at first, but will come together after mixing.

Batter:

1. Fold and press one-third of the meringue into almond flour paste. Repeat, folding and pressing in remaining meringue by thirds. Batter will be thick at first, but will loosen as you fold. Pressing the mixture during folding helps to release air bubbles. Continue folding until batter falls off the spatula in a thick ribbon, and you can draw a figure 8. Batter should be loose enough that it does not hold its shape, but stiff enough that you can still see the figure 8 after about 10 seconds. It is better to slightly undermix than to overmix. The batter will appear grainy, but the cookies will smooth out as they bake.

Piping and Baking:

1. Fit a decorating bag with a 1/2-inch round tip or a coupler. Fold open end of the bag up, place the empty bag in a large tall glass and fold the edges over the rim of the glass. Fill bag two-thirds full with batter.

2. For each batch, slide the parchment pattern under the plain parchment sheet on a cookie sheet. Pipe batter onto parchment, stopping just before batter reaches the outline of the circle. Firmly tap cookie sheet 5 to 10 times on the counter to release air bubbles. Using a toothpick or the tip of a sharp knife, pop any remaining bubbles that come to the surface. Slide out parchment pattern and repeat with remaining prepared cookie sheets.

3. Bake macarons, one cookie sheet at a time, 10 to 12 minutes. Tops of the cookies should be firm and not slide when gently touched. Immediately slide parchment paper off cookie sheet onto the counter and allow macarons to cool completely.

4. Divide vodka between two small bowls. Add remaining 2 drops orange food coloring to one bowl and add 2 drops red food coloring to the other. Swirl to combine, if needed. Dip a paper towel in the orange mixture and use it to gently wipe the tops of the macaron shells to transfer some color to resemble peach blush. Repeat with the red mixture. While still wet, sprinkle tops with additional granulated sugar to resemble peach fuzz. Shake off excess sugar. Let dry.

Filling and Assembling:

1. Spread jam on bottoms of half of the macarons, using about 1 tsp. for each cookie. Top with remaining macarons, bottom sides down. Store filled cookies in an airtight container. Refrigerate up to 5 days or freeze up to 2 months. Attach a mint leaf in between cookies before serving, if desired.

Peach Buttercream

In a large bowl beat 1/2 cup softened butter with a mixer on medium 1 to 2 minutes or until creamy. Beat in 2 Tbsp. peach jam and a dash of salt. Beat in 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar on low until combined. Beat on medium 5 minutes or until light and fluffy, scraping bowl as needed.