Cinnamon Dark Chocolate Macarons

A generous dose of cinnamon makes these macarons warm, comforting, spicy, fragrant and the perfect partner for a filling of dark chocolate buttercream.

Fall and my affinity for Moonstruck's Mexican Hot Chocolate were my inspirations for making these.

Baking them made my house smell heavenly and I really like the look of the cinnamon flecked throughout the macaron shells. These are natural beauties and now one of my favorite flavors. The cinnamon shells would also be great with fillings of pumpkin and apple so please stay tuned for those. I'm feeling inspired!

Here's the recipe:

Cinnamon Dark Chocolate Macarons
180g ground almonds, sifted
270g powdered sugar, sifted

2 tablespoon ground cinnamon

150g egg whites, aged 2 to 4 days in the fridge and then brought to room temperature
100g granulated sugar

Line four heavy baking sheets with good quality parchment paper and set aside. Also, set aside two pastry bags for the piping of the macarons.

Sift together your ground almonds with the powdered sugar and cinnamon and set aside.

The almond meal, powdered sugar and cinnamon before sifting.

Whisk the egg whites (at room temperature) to glossy firm peaks adding the granulated sugar gradually in four parts.

Incorporate the dry ingredients into the beaten egg whites using a large rubber scraper.  Mix well. 

Fold the mixture with the rubber scraper by pulling down the sides and flipping the mixture over. Do this until you have a smooth mixture that falls like a “ribbon” off the scraper.

Transfer the mixture into the two piping bags. Use rubber bands to close the piping bags. Clip the tip of the bags, one at a time, and pipe small quarter sized rounds, leaving 1-inch of space between each because they spread as they set.

Closeup of the piped macarons.

The macarons need to set for about 30 minutes before baking.

Leave to set for about 30 minutes or until the top has formed a crust and is not sticky to the touch.

Incorporate the dry ingredients into the beaten egg whites using a large rubber scraper.  Mix well. 

While they are setting, preheat the oven to 325 degrees. A convection oven is preferable. 

Bake one sheet at a time in the center of the oven for about 11 minutes or until the cookie is firm, matte and doesn't wobble when touched.

The baked cinnamon macarons.

Leave on the baking tray until cool then lift them all off the parchment carefully. You may need to use a thin knife to help lift them off. Sort them into pairs and fill with dark chocolate buttercream.

Dark Chocolate Buttercream
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup dark cocoa powder
1/3 cup powdered sugar

Whip together all of the ingredients until they are smooth and light. Transfer the buttercream to a piping bag for the filling of the macarons. Keep the macarons stored in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve.

Sorted macarons that are ready to be filling.

Filling the macarons.

All done!