More Macarons: Snickerdoodle Macarons

Do you like cinnamon donuts? Hang on, I don’t even know why i’m asking that, EVERYONE likes cinnamon donuts. While hot cinnamon donuts fresh from the fryer are a delicious treat, sometimes I just can’t be bothered making a big batch that just won’t taste the same the following day. These macarons however, improve with age! I’m not saying that macarons are less fiddly than fried donuts but yield will stay fresh for longer.

So why am I talking about donuts when these macarons are ‘snickerdoodle’ macarons? If you’ve never had a snickerdoodle before then you have my condolences. These biscuits are delicious, buttery, cinnamon-y and just plain good. They taste like cinnamon donuts converted into cookie form. So when I popped some cinnamon sugar on the top of my macarons and sandwiched some cinnamon buttercream between them, I found that they were similarly delicious. Mystery solved!

I used the Zumbo recipe posted previously to make the macaroni shells, but sprinkled some cinnamon sugar on top of half of them before baking. This gave a little more crunch and made them a little more reminiscent of the cookie after which they were named.

Aren’t they cute? All popped and crispy?

After baking the shells and letting them sit for a while, I hopped to it and whipped up some cinnamon buttercream. I seriously have no idea what i’m going to do when I move out later in the year and have to leave behind my mum’s kitchenaid mixer. And my mum…

nom nom cinnamon buttercream!

snickerdoodle macaron assemblage!

too cute!

and of course I had to taste test.

Deeeeelicious!

Sooooo, my lovelies, what is your favourite macaron flavour?

Snickerdoodle Macaron Recipe – Adapted from this recipe by Adriano Zumbo

Ingredients

300g almond meal

300g icing sugar

110g egg whites

300g caster sugar

75g water

2g powdered egg whites

110g egg whites

extra – 3 tbsp caster sugar and 1 tsp cinnamon

Method

1. Combine almond meal and icing sugar in a large bowl. Sieve the mixture thoroughly at least twice.

2. Put the egg whites into the bowl of an electric mixer with the whisk attachment

3. Put the caster sugar and water into a small saucepan and place over a low heat. Stir until the sugar has dissolved

4. Once the sugar has dissolved, increase the heat until the mixture is boiling and reaches 118 degrees celsius

5. When the sugar syrup is close to the required temperature, place the powdered egg whites into the mixer bowl with the real egg whites and mix until frothy

6. When the sugar syrup is at the required temperature, pour the sugar syrup in a slow and steady stream down the inside of the mixer bowl while the machine is still mixing. Turn the speed up to high and mix for about 8 minutes (or until the mix has gone from very hot to just warm)

7. Stir the extra egg whites into the sieved almond and icing sugar mix

8. Add the meringue mixture to the almond mixture and fold through. Once it is all combined, continue to fold until the mixture has loosened and is more ‘lava like’. You don’t need to be gentle here like you would with a normal meringue, the aim is to soften the mixture rather than to keep all the air in it

9. Pipe 4cm circles of mixture onto a baking tray making sure that there is enough space between each macaron as they will spread slightly. Mix the extra caster sugar and cinnamon together and sprinkle a little on top of half of the macarons.

10. Leave the trays for 30 mins to form a skin on the top. This will be how your macarons gain their ‘feet’ as the skin makes sure that they rise evenly and pop those little feet out the bottom (after 10 mins of resting, turn your oven on to 135 degrees celsius)

11. Place trays in the oven for 16 minutes or until they have a firm outer shell. Remove from the oven and set aside for 2 minutes. Carefully remove one macaron shell from the tray to check if the base is cool and dry. If it is still sticky on the bottom, put the tray back in the oven for another couple of minutes. When they are done, cool them on the trays.