Cinnamon Macarons

The best thing about making homemade ice cream is that you have a bunch of egg whites left over and you can experiment with macarons. Macarons need a lot of experimentation and practice to get them right. I still find that no two batches are alike, but I'm still working on it! To date, my most successful ones have been chocolate which almost never fail. But these turned out pretty good if I do say so myself.

To make these, I made a basic macaron batter and mixed in two teaspoons of ground cinnamon. I had no clue if that would be enough for a good flavor, and it turns out I was on target. They taste really good...

Of course, my macarons were not perfect. The first batch had HUGE feet. Way to big. They ooked like little hats with enormous rims. The second batch turned out just right...smooth dome, frilly feet, perfect consistency inside.

I filled them with a swiss buttercream. I made a basic vanilla swiss buttercream and added a bit of pumpkin pie filling to it. The end result is a cinnamon/pumpkin extravaganza of a macaron! Perfect for the fall!

Basic macaron recipe:
1 1/4 cups powdered sugar
1 cup almond flour
2 tsp. cinnamon
3 egg whites, room temperature (I let my eggs sit out overnight)
1/4 cup granulated sugar


Pulse first three ingredients in a food processor, set aside.

Beat the egg whites in a stand mixer until foamy. Add granulated sugar and beat until you get stiff peaks.

With a rubber spatula, blend the powdered sugar mixture and the egg white mixture. Mix until a peak in the batter disappears within a few seconds. It should "flow like magma" so they say.

Pipe onto parchment (or silpat) in 1.5 inch rounds. Bake for 12 - 15 minutes (depending on the heat of your oven, my oven cooks hot so I do 12 minutes).

Let cool on silpat, and then peel cooled macarons off.

Spread buttercream on bottom of one macaron and top with another. Store in a air-tight container at room temperature for 3 - 5 days.