Blend and sift the dry ingredients

• Blend the almond flour and powdered sugar to remove any lumps.
• Sift the mixture into a bowl and discard the lumps.

Make the almond paste

• Add the first portion of the egg whites to the sifted almond mixture.
• Mix into a smooth paste.

Cook the sugar syrup

• Heat the granulated sugar with the water in a saucepan.
• Stir the food coloring into the sugar rather than the batter.
• Cook until the syrup reaches about 118 °C.

Whip the meringue

• Whip the remaining egg whites with the salt and vanilla until foamy.
• Pour in the hot sugar syrup and whip on medium speed.
• Whip until thick and glossy, forming a bird's beak on the whisk.

Fold the batter

• Fold a third of the meringue and the vanilla into the almond mixture.
• Add the rest of the meringue and fold with a J motion: straight down, fold to the left, rotate.
• Stop when the batter flows off the spatula in a ribbon forming a V.

Pipe the shells

• Insert the piping tip into the bag so the batter doesn't drip out.
• Lay the batter on the table to push out the bubbles.
• Pipe small C-shaped rounds onto the tray, then tap the tray and pop large bubbles with a pin.

Bake the macarons

• Bake at 155 °C (310 °F) until the shells are set and have feet.
• Let cool completely before filling.