Yummy! French Macaroon Recipe!

So, I know that I'm not the only one who sees those groupon ads with the delicious colorful cookies on them! There's a local bakery in my town that has these cookies, along with many other delicious French treats. One day soon I plan to make these. I've never been a baking genius (I tried making puzzle shaped cookies for autism awareness and they turned out looking like flowers), but I am going to try my best to make these cookies! They come in all different flavors such as French Almond and Rasberry Chocolate. If you have made these cookies before and have any suggestions, please let me know! Here is the recipe that I plan to follow (I might tweak it to have a different flavor):


Recipe From www.foodnetwork.com 

Ingredients:

Ingredients for macaroons: 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar 7/8 cups almond flour 1/2 cup egg whites 2 Tbsp. sugar 3 drops food coloring 1/4 cup water Ingredients for butter cream: 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar 1 Tbsp. hot water 1 tsp. instant coffee 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:

Directions for macaroons: 1. Preheat over to 300 degrees F. 2. Stir together the confectioners' sugar and almond flour and sift it through a tammie or open mesh strainer. 3. In a mixer, whip the whites until frothy. Add the sugar and food coloring and whip until stiff. 4. Add 1/3 of the almost mixture and fold part way in. Add another 1/3 and fold partway in. 5. Add final 1/3 and fold in leaving a few specks of egg whites (it will look like a deflated marshmallow). 6. Place a pastry bag, with a close pin holding it shut, in a tall, round container. Fold the edge over the rim of the container to fill it easily. 7. Pipe dots of meringue at each corner to stick down some parchment paper on a sheet pan. 8. Pipe rows of kisses 1-inch each (size of a quarter) one half inch apart. 9. Bake about 17 minutes until very light brown. If necessary, pour 1/4 cup water under the parchment paper to both ends of the sheet to steam them loose. Let cool and peel off. Directions for butter cream: 1. In a mixer, whip the butter very well, scraping the bowl often until it's light and fluffy. 2. Add confectioners' sugar and mix on low. 3. Drizzle in instant coffee and vanilla with the hot water. 4. Chill until ready to use, and then bring to room temperature. 5. Pipe macaroons with buttercream and make little sandwiches. 6. Keep in a covered box chilled.