Cinnamon Roll Macarons – Mac Attack 2, an Award, and a Cookie Swap

In October Memória, Mangio da Sola, posted her Daring Bakers Cinnamon Roll Macarons and I thought it was a fabulous idea. They have a scrumptious brown sugar cinnamon shell with a rich cream cheese filling.

So when Jamie and Deeba announced the creation of Mac Tweets with a monthly mac challenge I knew immediately the mac flavor I wanted to try – Cinnamon Roll Macs. And I’m so glad I did! They were as sinfully delicious as I had imagined.

I made a one egg version of the Mac Tweet recipe, Tartlette’s, using my version of David Lebovitz’s instructions. My macs are still a bit ruffly, but they have that wonderful crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside mac texture. If you haven’t tried making macarons yet, this is a good one to start with!

Cinnamon Roll Macarons
1 egg white
10 grams granulated sugar
66 grams powdered sugar
37 grams almond meal
1 T. brown sugar
1/2 t. ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375º.

Line one baking sheet with parchment paper and have a pastry bag with a plain tip (about 1/2-inch, 2 cm) ready. (Set the pastry bag in a tall glass while you fill the bag.)

Grind together the powdered sugar with the almond powder, brown sugar and cinnamon so there are no lumps; use a blender or food processor since almond meal that you buy isn’t quite fine enough.

Whip the egg whites to a foam, gradually add the sugar until you obtain a glossy meringue. (Your whites are ready if the peak doesn’t bend over when you pull the beater out of the whites.)

Carefully fold the dry ingredients, in two batches, into the beaten egg whites with a flexible rubber spatula. When the mixture is just smooth and there are no streaks of egg white, stop folding and scrape the batter into the pastry bag.

Pipe the batter on the parchment-lined baking sheets in 1-inch (3 cm) circles (about 1 tablespoon each of batter), evenly spaced one-inch (3 cm) apart. (There is a nice macaron template here.)

Rap the baking sheet a few times firmly on the counter top to flatten the macarons, if necessary. Bake them for 10-15 minutes. Let cool completely then remove from baking sheet.

Cream Cheese Filling
1 oz. cream cheese
1 T. butter
1/2 cup powdered sugar
splash of vanilla
dash of salt

Beat together cream cheese and butter. Add the confectioners’ sugar, vanilla extract and salt.

In addition to posting this wonderful mac recipe, Memória, Mangio da Sola, received the Neno’s Award recognizing her scrumptious blog and she passed it on to me!

I’m passing the award on to Mags, The Other Side of Fifty. I love Mags blog. She is always whipping up wonderful meals, fabulous breads and delicious treats for co-irkers!

Neno’s Award—-Rules and Regulations
1. As a dedication for those who love blogging and love to encourage friendships through blogging.
2. To seek the reasons why we all love blogging.
3. Put the award in one post as soon as you receive it.
4. Don’t forget to mention the person who gives you the award.
5. Answer the award’s question by writing the reason why you love blogging.
6. Tag and distribute the award to as many people as you like.
7. Don’t forget to notify the award receivers and put their links in your post.

I love blogging because it challenges me to try recipes out of my comfort zone and has helped me become a better baker. But the best thing about blogging is the wonderful friendships I’ve made with other bloggers worldwide. Food bloggers really are the nicest people!

And speaking of fabulous food bloggers, on Saturday a great group of Utah Food Bloggers met at Wild Grape for brunch and a cookie swap.

Maria, TwoPeasandTheirPod brought chewy Chocolate Peppermint Crunch Cookies.
Holly, PheMomenon brought her favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies from The New York Times.
Tiffany, FoodFinery made colorful Shortbread cookies with cranberries and pumpkin seeds.
Candace, A Little Blog made a fun recipe of her mom’s Sweet & Salty Chocolate Chip cookies.
Christina, Mele Cotte created elegant Chocolate Mascarpone Peanut Butter Chocolate Ganache Mini Tarts.
Becky, Vintage Mixer brought a family favorite Ginger Creams.
Dara, Cookin’ Canuck, made festive Cinnamon and Almond Meringue Star Cookies.
Kalyn, Kalyn’s Kitchen, doesn’t eat many sweets but came for the great food and fun conversation.

I brought luscious Pecan Squares that I posted recently in my 12 weeks of Christmas cookies series.

Christie, The Table Runner, baked a yummy recipe of a dear friend, Cherry Chocolate Crisps. Visit The Table Runner, to see great pictures of our group eating and snapping pictures of all the delicious cookies! Thanks everyone for a delightful afternoon!