I found this delicious recipe from Sprinkles for Breakfast for Vanilla Almond Macarons. I didn't have almond extract, or vanilla beans so I modified the filling and just made vanilla macarons. I also rearranged the steps according to how I actually did it. This is quite possibly my favorite cookie to make.
Prepare a piping bag with a 1/4 inch tip (Wilton tips #9, #10, or #11 should work well.), line a few baking sheets with parchment paper (Make sure its not wax paper), and get your butter for the filling out of the fridge so it can soften.
Lower speed to medium, add granulated sugar and return mixer to high speed until the whites form stiff peaks.
With the mixer on high speed add food coloring until you reach your desired color (when you add the flour mixture in the next step the batter will get slightly lighter so dye accordingly).
Using a rubber spatula aggressively fold in the dry ingredients until the batter starts to loosen and becomes a little runny. To test if the batter is ready, lift a small amount from the bowl and drop it back. If it does nothing, keep mixing. If it slowly melts back into the mixture after 20-30 seconds it is ready.
Put the batter into the piping bag and pipe 1 1/2 inch circles onto the prepared baking sheet and firmly tap the bottom so the batter flattens out.
Let the macarons rest for 30-45 minutes or until they have a skin and are dry to the touch.
While you are waiting for them to rest, preheat your oven to 325 degrees and start on the filling.
Add milk, sugar, and vanilla extract, and mix until it is light and fluffy.
Bake the macaron shells from step 10 for 10-12 minutes.
After the macarons are cool, peel them off of the parchment paper and pair one sprinkled shell with one non-sprinkled according to size.
Using a piping bag with a round tip, pipe a small amount of filling on one half of a pair and sandwich the second half on top.
Decorate as you desire. I put sprinkled on the filling that was showing around the sides.