Lavender quince macarons

It's been a trying week so far. I've been sick and, even worse, my baby's been sick. This doesn't make for an inspire and productive pâtissière. Today, I finally started dreaming up recipes again, which leads me to believe, there will be new posts soon.
Two weeks ago, I discovered that my local health store was even more awesome than I thought. They carry all sorts of herbs and spices, and -oh divine surprise- culinary lavender. That brought me so much joy. I don't need much to be happy.
This morning I wiped up a batch of lavender honey ice cream. The kind of ice cream that is custard-based (meaning, it contains eggs). Very promising, and on the healthy side. All this honey will surely cure any lingering sore throat.
When I brought home my beloved lavender, I proceeded to bake lavender macarons, of course. They could have been filled with a number of fillings like white chocolate ganache (or buttercream) or lemon curd. I tried those too. What I want to talk about today, however, is my lavender macarons filled with quince paste. Hey why not.

Lavender Quince Macarons: (Macarons a la Lavande et a la Pate de Coing)

90g aged egg whites (about 3, aged on your kitchen counter 24 hours or longer)
110g almond meal
200g powdered sugar
30g granulated sugar
2 tablespoons ground culinary lavender

Quince paste 

or quince jelly, blended with softened butter in equal amount

Sift together the almond meal and powdered sugar in a big bowl. Sift in the lavender powder. You don't want any lumps in there.
In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites with an electric mixer. When they start foaming, throw in the granulated sugar. Purple food coloring can be added too (preferably in gel or powder form, not to add extra moisture!). Beat on high until stiff peaks form.
With a rubber spatula, dump the egg whites in the almond mixture and FOLD gently until the dry ingredients and egg whites are well married. However, do not stir too much. Run a knife through. If the line disappears after ten seconds, stop folding.
Throw this paste in a large  decorator bag (fitted with an Ateco #807 tip if possible) and pipe away on a silpat covered baking sheet. The macarons should be about 2 inches in diameter and 1 inch apart as they spread a little.
Let them rest for 20 to 30 minutes. Pre-heat your oven on 300F.
Bake the macarons for 20 to 22 minutes (keep an eye on them and you can give them a push with a finger to see if they are set and ready after 19 or 20 minutes in the oven). Let cool completely.

Spread a layer of quince paste or quince butter on a shell and cover with another shell. Repeat with all shells and refrigerate overnight to allow the filling to harden and the flavors to marry. It would be even better to let the macarons rest for 2 days before eating them. Hard as it sounds.

Very fragrant macarons

Gorged with quince goodness

The big close-up

The middle player is my little lavender plant