Cinnamon Macarons

What are Cinnamon Macarons? | 3 Tips for Making Macaron Batter the Right Consistency | Decorating Ideas for Christmas Macarons | The Importance of a Kitchen Scale

Cinnamon macarons made with Italian the macaron method. They are composed of macaron shells and cinnamon buttercream.

These macarons taste like a snickerdoodle in a macaron…or a cinnamon roll…or Christmas morning! It’s basically a very delicious macaron that makes people say oooh and ahhhh. Which is completely necessary since these are Christmas macarons.

Read below for the recipe.

cinnamon macarons

What are Cinnamon Macarons?

Cinnamon macarons consist of basic Italian meringue macaron shells combined with the most delicious cinnamon buttercream.

Note that the buttercream is more like French buttercream, not American Buttercream. Because French macaron shells are already very sweet, I don’t like to use American buttercream. It feels like sugar overload instead of the perfectly balanced sweet cookie it should be.

For these macarons, you don’t need to add any food coloring. The natural color of the shells works beautifully for cinnamon, but you are welcome to add gel food coloring if desired (don’t use liquid gel, as it can ruin the batter).

cinnamon macarons recipe

3 Tips for Making Macaron Batter the Right Consistency

Getting macaron batter just right can be intimidating, especially if you are new to making macarons.

Here are 3 tips that will help you to achieve the right consistency. And remember, practice makes perfect. So you may need to make macarons a few times before getting it right.

I made countless macarons before working out all of the little flaws, but now I get to share all that I have learned with you so that you don’t have to experience all of the macaron fails.

Tip 1: Fold the Batter

One of the most important parts of making macaron batter is folding it. To fold the batter correctly, put the spatula underneath the batter, pull it up toward you, and then bring the spatula back down into the batter on the opposite side of the bowl.

In other words, fold in a full circle. Then turn the bowl 1/4 turn and fold again. Repeat this according to the recipe directions in combination with the next step. These two together will help you achieve the right consistency.

Tip 2: Smear the Batter

You also need to smear the batter around the bowl 2-4 times. This deflates some air bubbles so that the macarons don’t have tons of air pockets.

Don’t go overboard on this step. Just 2-3 three smears around the bowl and along the bottom will do the trick.

Tip 3: Test it

Test the macaron batter by drizzling it back into the bowl. If the batter breaks instead of drizzling in a ribbon, it’s not ready.

You should also see the macaron batter slowly melt back into the bowl, and it should lose its shape after 30-40 seconds. This is specific to the Italian meringue method. Macarons made with the French method should flow more freely and quickly.

cinnamon macarons recipe

Decorating Ideas for Christmas Macarons

Since these are Christmas macarons, I added a pretty design on top with royal icing and a stencil…but I will be perfectly honest. I don’t recommend going that route.

Because the macarons are rounded slightly, the stencil doesn’t sit flat. It takes a lot of work and finagling to get it against the surface…and then you have to try to spread royal icing without the stencil moving! I only succeeded about half the time

I’d highly recommend dusting them with luster dust or sprinkling them with powdered sugar. Or another option is to leave the shells plain and pipe the frosting with a pretty star tip.

People will be impressed no matter what (because these are amazing macarons), so don’t feel like you have to go overboard on the shells.

And you don’t have to make these just for Christmas, did I mention that? They are good all year long!

cinnamon macarons Christmas macarons

The Importance of a Kitchen Scale

Under no circumstances should you ever make macarons using measuring cups. Cups are inaccurate. Two people measuring the same ingredients with measuring cups can have very different results depending on how they measure it.

For macarons, you need a good kitchen scale. Luckily, there are several on Amazon for less than $15. I recommend using grams for all of my recipes.

Macarons need to be measured very specifically to the gram, and grams are universal. So no matter where you live, you should get the same results with grams.

Other Macarons You’ll Love

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Cinnamon Macarons

cinnamon macarons Christmas macarons
  • Author: Camille
  • Prep Time: 90 minutes
  • Rest Time: 30 minutes
  • Cook Time: 15 minutes
  • Total Time: 2 hours 15 minutes
  • Yield: 30 macarons 1x
  • Category: Cookies

Ingredients

Units Scale

For the Macaron Shells

  • 225 g almond flour, such as kind this (sift to remove big grains)
  • 225 g powdered sugar
  • 4 g powdered egg whites
  • 85 g liquified egg whites, room temperature (aged for 1-2 days)
  • 190 g granulated sugar
  • 41 g water
  • 85 g liquified egg whites, room temp (aged 1-2 days)

For the Cinnamon Buttercream

  • 226 g unsalted butter, soft but cool (1 c)
  • 56 g cream cheese (2 oz)
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 240 g powdered sugar (2 c)
  • 1/4 tsp salt

Instructions

Prep the Egg Whites

  1. Age the egg whites for 1-2 days in the fridge before making macarons to liquify the eggs.
  2. To do this, place the egg whites in a bowl, cover with plastic, and make a few slits in the plastic. Store in the fridge for at least 1-2 days. The egg whites lose some of their water content and breakdown during the aging process, which helps to create a better macaron.

To Make the Macaron Shells

  1. Measure out all ingredients before beginning.
  2. Sift almond flour and remove coarse grains. After sifting, weigh out 225 grams of almond flour into a large clean bowl. Then sift powdered sugar into the almond flour.  
  3. Strain the egg whites through a fine mesh strainer (this helps to create shiny shells). Add 85 g of room temperature egg whites and stir until a paste forms. If adding food coloring, add at this point. Do not leave any dry bits of almond flour or powdered sugar. The mixture needs to be thoroughly combined. Set aside.

To Make the Italian Meringue

  1. Pour water and sugar into a medium pot and cook over medium high. Place a thermometer in the pot and do not stir. 
  2. Meanwhile, add 85 grams of egg whites and powdered egg whites to a mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. When the water and sugar reached 230 degrees, turn the mixer onto high speed so the egg whites start whipping.
  3. When the sugar syrup reaches 244 degrees F, remove from heat, and SLOWLY pour the sugar syrup into the mixer(keep the mixer going) right on the edge of the bowl so that it slowly drips down the side of the mixing bowl into the eggs. 
  4. Once all of the sugar syrup is in the bowl, turn down to medium high speed and mix until the bowl is just slightly warm to the touch and stiff peaks form, about 2-3 minutes.

Making the Macaronage

  1. Now it is time to combine the almond paste and the Italian meringue. Take 1/3 of the meringue and stir it into the almond mixture to lighten the texture and weight of the batter. This third of the Italian meringue is sacrificed in order to get the proper texture with the remaining meringue.
  2. Add another 1/3 of the Italian meringue, and this time, gently fold it into the batter 6 full turns. 
  3. Smear the mixture against the sides of the bowl 2-3 times, and then fold 3 more times. At this point, the mixture  may not be fully mixed. 
  4. Use the back of your spatula to gently blend the remaining meringue and and almond paste, and fold 2 more times in the process if it needs it. Test the consistency of the macaron batter at this point. You should be able to drizzle the batter in thick lava ribbons that SLOWLY flow into the bowl. It should meld back into the batter in 30 seconds seconds. If the batter is too thick, fold the batter 2-3 times and check again.
  5. The consistency can change quickly, so watch carefully! If the batter is flowing really fast and is more like a puddle, it has been over mixed and will not make good macarons anymore. There is no saving runny macarons, so you will have to start over and make a new batch. So be careful!

Baking and Filling Macarons

  1. Preheat oven to 300 (you may have to try a few temperatures in your oven before you find just the right setting, usually between 300 and 320 degrees F). 
  2. Line 2 half sheet pans with silpat baking mats or perforated baking mats. You may also wish to use macaron baking mats with guides on them. Fit a piping bag with a Wilton #12 tip (or similar tip size).
  3. Fill the piping bag with the macaron batter and twist the top of the bag closed. Pipe macarons into 1.75 inch circles.
  4. The best way to do this is by holding the piping bag directly above the parchment paper and piping straight down. Allow the batter to push out into a bigger circle while piping, and then quickly pull the tip away so that there is just a slight point remaining on top of the batter disk.
  5. If batter is the right consistency, the little points will disappear on their own as they sink into the macaron batter after about a minute.
  6. Tap the trays of macarons quite hard on the counter a few times to allow the air bubbles to escape.
  7. Allow the macarons to form a skin- roughly 30-60 minutes. They are ready when they are no longer sticky to the touch and they look matte on top.
  8. Place macarons in oven and bake for 12-18 minutes, relying more on what the macarons look like than the actual suggested time.
  9. Test the macarons around the 12 minute mark by gently wiggling the tops of a couple. If the tops slide or move around some, then they are still not ready. When you try to wiggle the top of a macaron and it doesn’t move, then they are ready to come out of the oven.
  10. Remove baking mats from trays so that the macarons do not continue to bake. Allow to cool completely and gently peel off of silicon mats after they have cooled completely.

Making the Cinnamon Buttercream

  1. Cream butter and cream cheese with a hand mixer until smooth. Add vanilla and mix.
  2. Add powdered sugar, cinnamon, and salt, and mix for a couple of minutes on medium high speed until light and fluffy. 
  3. Pipe cinnamon buttercream on the bottom side of half the macarons, leaving an 1/8 inch border order on the edge. Top with the remaining macaron shells and gently twist together until buttercream comes to the edges. 
  4. Macarons need to be refrigerated for the best results, but they can be eaten the same day. They are best to eat after 24-48 hours when they have had time to mature in the fridge. Eat within 1 week or freeze for up to 2 months.

Notes

This is a Baker Street Society original recipe

Keywords: cinnamon macarons, cinnamon buttercream

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