Preheat oven to 300F degrees.   

Sift together almond flour and powdered sugar; removing the larger lumps of almond pieces. Discard those, you want a really fine powder mixture to create a smooth and pretty on top to your cookie. 

Beat egg whites until foamy, then add salt, cream of tartar and white sugar for 6-10 mins. Whip until peaks form that stands upright.

Fold flour/powdered sugar mixture into the egg white mixture. Be careful, if you under mix your macarons they will be lumpy and cracked when they bake and they won’t have feet. If you over mix, your macarons will be flat and won’t have feet (the mark of a well-made macaron). A good measure is 65-75 turns of your spatula when folding.

Transfer batter to a pastry bag. Pipe out 1 inch rounds on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Tap the pan hard at least 2-3 times to release the air bubbles. This will prevent the tops of your macarons from cracking. 

Let them sit out for 20-30 mins, or even up to an hour if you want. This will allow them time to dry out a bit. They should be “tacky” to the touch, but not stick to your fingertips. This is another important step to assuring your macarons develop feet! When they dry out they can’t spread out in the oven, and are forced to rise up, which is what creates the feet. 

Bake for 20 mins. Meanwhile mix the filling.

In a food processor, blend hazelnuts until creamy. 

Then add the maple syrup and cacao and blend again.

Transfer to a pastry bag, fitted with a small tip (about ¼ ” in diameter) Reverse cookie shells on their backs, and pipe a small mound of filling on one of them.

Top with the other shell and you have your French Macaron!