1. Grind the almonds with the brown sugar and 1 1/2 ounces (40 g), or 1/3 cup, of the confectioners' sugar in your food processor, stopping to break up any caking as needed until finely ground but not at all oily. Sift through a medium sieve. Grind the almonds that don't pass through the sieve with another 2 1/2 ounces (70 g), or 1/2 cup plus 4 teaspoons, of the confectioners' sugar until reduced to a fine powder. Transfer all of the almond and sugar powder to a bowl, break up any caking with your fingertips, and mix thoroughly.
2. Sift 2 ounces (60 g), or about 1/2 cup, of the remaining confectioners' sugar with the cocoa powder and toss it with the almond and sugar powder.
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3. Sift the rest (30 g) of the confectioners' sugar onto a sheet of wax paper.
4. Whip the egg whites in an electric mixer at low speed until they start to froth. If you are not whipping the whites in a copper bowl, then add the cream of tartar at this point. Gradually increase the whipping speed to medium-high and continue whipping until the whites form very stiff peaks and just begin to slip and streak around the side of the bowl. Add a drop of red food coloring. Then add the confectioners' sugar and continue whipping at high speed for a few seconds longer to incorporate the sugar and lighten the meringue.
5. Gently fold the almond mixture into the meringue. The batter must be smooth and shiny, and it should spread easily without being at all runny. If it is dull and firm, fold it a little longer to deflate it slightly and get the required consistency. But do not deflate it too much, or the batter will spread too much and the tops of the cookies will crack when baked.
6. Scoop the batter into the large pastry bag. Pipe a small dab of batter in each corner of 2 baking sheets and line them with newsprint, pressing the corners of the newsprint on the dabs of batter to hold it in place. Pipe the batter in domes 1 inch wide, arranging them on the newsprint in staggered rows and separating them by about 1 inch (2 1/2 cm). Unless you have 2 ovens, pipe only one sheet of cookies at a time, and keep the remaining batter in the pastry bag until the first sheet is baked.
7. Bake 1 sheet at a time. After 1 minute at 450 F (230 C), reduce the temperature to 375 F (190 C), place an empty baking sheet underneath the sheet of cookies and continue baking, using a wooden spatula to hold the oven door ajar, until the tops of the cookies are glossy and dry to the touch while the insides are still soft, about 8 to 10 minutes longer.
8. Lift the baking sheet of cookies off the empty baking sheet and take it to the sink. Pour cold water (about 1/2 cup, or 1 dl, per baking sheet) between the paper and the baking sheet (tilting the baking sheet so that the water runs over the entire surface and drains thoroughly into the sink) to steam the cookies off the paper. Then place the baking sheet on a wire rack and cool.
9. To make the ganache filling, chop the chocolate and put it in a small stainless-steel bowl. Bring the cream just to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 2 minutes, stirring constantly with a wire whisk, to sterilize the cream. Gradually stir the cream into the chocolate with the whisk, and continue stirring until the chocolate is completely melted. (If some of the chocolate still doesn't melt, dip the bottom of the bowl of ganache in a bowl of hot water and stir a little longer.) Then allow it to cool, stirring occasionally with a wooden spatula, until it starts to thicken. Fill the cookies right away, before the ganache sets. If the ganache does set before you finish using it, dip the bottom of the bowl of ganache in a bowl of hot water and stir it with a wooden spatula until it is soft and smooth (but not runny) again.
10. Carefully slide (don't lift) the cookies off the paper before the paper dries, and arrange them upside down on your countertop. Scoop the ganache into the small pastry bag, and pipe about 1/2 teaspoon (1/4 cl) of ganache on the center of half the cookies. (Or spread the ganache using a small palette knife.) Then place a second cookie right side up on top of each and press gently to make a sandwich.
Variation: For a simpler, less rich version of these cookies, omit the filling and sandwich them back-to-back in pairs as soon as you remove them from the newsprint.
Storage: Covered airtight in a tin cookie box or a cookie jar for up to 2 or 3 days in the refrigerator.
From The French Cookie Book: Classic and Contemporary Recipes for Easy and Elegant Cookies, by Bruce Healy with Paul Bugat.
