Before starting, wipe down bowls, attachments, spatulas, and baking mats with vinegar to eliminate any grease or residue. This is essential to help make sure your macarons come out correctly.

Sift together the almond meal and powdered sugar into a medium bowl. Set bowl aside.

Add the egg whites and cream of tartar to the bowl of a stand mixer. Turn on the stand mixer on low and mix the egg whites until foamy for 2 – 3 minutes.

With the mixer running, slowly start to add the granulated sugar to the egg whites. Once all the sugar has been added, increase the stand mixer speed to medium speed and continue to mix until your meringue reaches stiff peaks. This takes around 6 - 7 minutes, but be sure to check it often to avoid over-mixing.

Once the meringue is done, remove the mixing bowl from the stand mixer.

Remove the mixing bowl from the mixer.

Begin the macaronage process. Add half of the powdered sugar/almond meal mixture to the egg whites. With a large flexible spatula fold until combined. Then add the remaining mixture. Once almost combined, you can add the food coloring. (Be sure to do it early on in the macaronage process to avoid overmixing. Also, you can food coloring during the meringue mixing, but the color may be lighter. I like adding color during macaronage to get brighter and more colorful shells.)

Continue mixing by scraping the batter against the side of the bowl. The batter is done being mixed once the batter flows in ribbons off the spatula. Test the batter for doneness by trying to make a figure 8 with the batter while is it falling off the spatula into the bowl. It’s done if the ribbon does not break. Be careful not to over-mix. Be sure to complete this process with both bowls.

Line an upside-down baking sheet with silicon baking mats, preferably ones with circle templates for macarons.

Fill a piping bag with a round piping tip with the batter. Pipe the batter on the baking mat following the template on the mat. Once done piping, carefully rap or bang the pan on the countertop to get rid of any air bubbles. Using a toothpick or scribe, pop any air bubbles. Quickly then top with the crushed fruity pebbles on the macarons.

Allow your macarons to dry for 40 – 45 minutes until a skin forms. This may take longer depending on humidity.

Bake each tray separately for 13 – 14 minutes.

Remove from the oven and allow macarons to cool completely on the mat. Do not remove until completely cooled (about 15 minutes).

While the macarons are baking, start preparing the lemon curd. Note: You can also prepare the lemon curd in advance before making the macaron shells.

Zest lemons until you have one tablespoon of zest.

To a small food processor or in a blender. Add the sugar and zest and pulse a few times. This will help to extract the oils from the zest. This helps to create a lot of flavor in the lemon curd. You can omit this step, but I highly recommend it!

Into a small pot add the eggs, lemon zest, and sugar.

With a whisk begin whisking the ingredients until it is lighter in color. This may take a few minutes depending on how fast you are whisking.

Continue to whisk and add one tablespoon of lemon juice at a time until it is all added and well combined.

Turn the stove to low heat and continue to whisk until the mixture thickens. It will be done when it starts to bubble and can coat the back of a wooden spoon.

Remove the pot from the heat. Cut up the butter into cubes.

While continuing to whisk, add the butter slowly in one piece at a time. Add the next piece when the previous piece has completely been incorporated. Continue to do this until all the butter is added.

Transfer the curd to a jar or storage container. Allow to cool to room temperature and then store in the refrigerator. Be sure to add plastic wrap directly to the top to avoid skin forming on top of the curd.

After making the lemon curd, begin making the lemon buttercream.

In a medium bowl, beat the butter with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 – 3 minutes.

Add the lemon zest, lemon juice, salt and half the powdered sugar, and beat on low speed until fully incorporated for about 1 minute.

Add the remaining powdered sugar and 1 tablespoons of heavy cream. Mix together again until the ingredients are incorporated. If the buttercream is too thick, add an additional tablespoon of the heavy cream until it reaches a creamy consistency. If too think, add a couple of tablespoons of powdered sugar.

Put the lemon buttercream in a piping bag with a piping tip (A size 10 or 12 piping tip will work best). You can also put the lemon curd into a piping bag or use two spoons to carefully dollop onto the macaron shells. If using a piping bag, you do not need to put a tip on, I just cut the end of the bag and easily pipe it into the center of the macarons.

Before filling the macarons, match each up into pairs similar in size.

Take one shell and do a circle of the lemon buttercream. In the center, add the lemon curd and then sandwich it together with the matched shell.

Allow macarons to mature for at least 24 hours in the refrigerator.

Store macarons in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up 5 days. Bring to room temperature for 30 – 45 minutes before eating them.