Macarons, and the Best Filling Ever!

I just want to say how delicious Macarons are.  I love anything made of meringue.  Meringues are my favorite cookies (are they even cookies?).  But they make a great base to add things to, like in Macarons and Pavlova. To tell the truth, I don't even know what macarons are. What is the difference between Macarons and Macaroons? I heard that they are the same, except Macaroons are French and Macarons are American, but I don't know whether that's true or not. I'll just call them macarons.

I got the recipe from Martha Stewart, but I think mine are cuter.  Here is her recipe:

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups plus 1 teaspoon confectioners sugar
• 1 cup (4 ounces) finely ground, blanched almonds
• 6 tablespoons fresh egg whites (from about 3 extra-large eggs)
• Pinch of salt
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• Martha's Filling
• OR you can use our filling (which is AMAZING)

Directions

1. To make the macarons: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together confectioners' sugar and ground almonds. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip egg whites with salt on medium speed until foamy. Increase speed to high and gradually add granulated sugar. Continue to whip until stiff glossy peaks form. With a rubber spatula, gently fold in the confectioners' sugar mixture until completely incorporated.
   
2. Line baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside. Fit a pastry bag with a 3/8-inch #4 round tip, and fill with batter. Pipe 1-inch disks onto prepared baking sheets, leaving 2 inches between cookies. The batter will spread a little. Let stand at room temperature until dry, and a soft skin forms on the tops of the macarons and the shiny surface turns dull, about 15 minutes.
   
3. Bake, with the door of the oven slightly ajar, until the surface of the macarons is completely dry, about 15 minutes. Remove baking sheet to a wire rack and let the macarons cool completely on the baking sheet. Gently peel off the parchment. Their tops are easily crushed, so take care when removing the macarons from the parchment. Use immediately or store in an airtight container, refrigerated for up to 2 days or frozen for up to 1 month.
   
4. To fill the macarons: Fill a pastry bag with the filling. Turn macarons so their flat bottoms face up. On half of them, pipe about 1 teaspoon filling. Sandwich these with the remaining macarons, flat-side down, pressing slightly to spread the filling to the edges. Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.
   
   
   I know the recipe seems long, but they are actually really easy to make.  And there is no need to space them 2 inches apart.  They only need one inch spacing (don't space them too close together, they do spread out a little bit).  And now for the best filling ever.  We got this recipe from our old cake decorating teacher at Joanns,  (thank you SO much) and we have used it ever since.  It is SO GOOD! We use it to fill cakes, cupcakes, and macarons.  Here is that super easy recipe.

 1 pint whipping cream
 1 small package of cheesecake flavored instant pudding (or oreo, or coconut cream with coconut added)

Dump into mixer and whip until very thick, dense and buttery tasting (it almost tastes like butter!)

YUUUMMM!! (I'm sad because they've all been eaten)

Maddie