S'mores Macarons

Instructions

1. Weigh the graham crackers into a food chopper and pulse until crumbly. Then, weigh and add the almond flour and powdered sugar into the food chopper and pulse for a few more seconds. Transfer the graham cracker mixture into a sifter over a bowl and sift out/discard any large chunks. Then, transfer back into the food chopper and pulse again for 5-10 seconds. Repeat sifting and chopping 1-2 more times until it's a fine mixture. Set aside. Weigh the egg whites & sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer (or large heat-resistant bowl). Place the bowl over a pot with ~½ inch of simmering water and whisk constantly until the mixture reaches around 100°F (it should look like a transparent syrup underneath white bubbles). Transfer the bowl to the stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment (or remove from heat and use a hand mixer). Whisk on low speed for a minute, and then increase the speed 1-2 notches every 3-5 minutes. Once the meringue starts to get white and somewhat thick, add the vanilla extract. Continue increasing the mixer to full speed and whisking until it reaches soft peaks. (Soft peaks are thick but still a bit droopy when lifted). Gently fold ½ of the graham cracker mixture into the meringue, then add the remaining ½. Continue folding until the batter is smooth and creates a figure 8 without breaking when it trickles down from the spatula. Pour the batter into a pastry bag with a medium round piping tip. Pipe circles on a silicon mat (or parchment paper) on a baking sheet by placing the piping tip at a 90° angle from the sheet, about ¼ inch away, and squeezing until the circle is 1-1½ inches in diameter. I recommend wearing earplugs for this-Carefully lift the pan of shells ~6 inches and drop it onto your counter 5 times. Smooth out any air bubbles with a toothpick, and then drop it a few more times. Let the shells rest at room temperature until they're smooth & dry to touch (~40-50 minutes). Preheat oven to 315°F while the macaron shells are resting.* Bake macarons for 12-14 minutes. The shells should be just slightly noticeably tan around the edges and firm on top. Let them cool on the baking sheet completely.