Macaron Shells

1. In a medium sized bowl sieve the almond meal, cocoa powder and powdered sugar together
2. If there are large chunks of almond meal remaining in the sieve dispose of them
3. In a large clean bowl add the egg whites, and using an electric mixer beat until foamy
4. Slowly add the sugar and beat until stiff peaks
5. Fold the sieved almond meal and powdered sugar into the meringue in 3 additions, scraping around the bowl and down the centre
6. Press the batter around the bowl and before folding it into the centre
7. Continue until you notice that the lines that form when the batter falls back into the bowl slowly start to disappear
8. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a round tip and pipe out 1.5inch circles
9. Allow to dry for 1-2 hours
10. Bake in a preheated oven at 140°C for 10-15 minutes (I find that it's usually done at 13, but it depends on your oven so make sure to check! If you give your macarons a wiggle they shouldn't be moving, that's when they're ready)
11. Remove from oven and let cool

Chocolate Buttercream

1. Add butter to the bowl of a stand mixer and beat on medium-high for 3 minutes until smooth and silky
2. Sift in the cocoa powder and icing sugar
3. Add the vanilla extract
4. Continue to beat for 5 minutes until light and fluffy
5. Transfer the buttercream to a piping bag fitted with a round piping tip
6. Match similar sized macaron shells with each other
7. On the flat side of one shell pipe a ring of buttercream around the circumference
8. Fill the centre with peanut butter
9. Top with a matching shell
10. Place in airtight container in the fridge for a day to mature (gives deeper flavour and chewy texture!)