Snowman Macarons With Cinnamon Buttercream Filling

The cutest snowman macarons with cinnamon buttercream filling that taste so festive and are seriously fun to make this holiday season.

We make macaron batter as usual (and I always use Italian meringue to make macarons) but pipe them into a snowman shape on the baking tray or cookie sheet so that as they bake they fuse together and create the sweetest snowman macarons.

A cinnamon buttercream filling makes them deliciously festive and the cinnamon tempers the sweetness, too. I decorate mine with chocolate chips, royal icing, and more cinnamon buttercream. The perfect Christmas party food idea or Christmas cookie to give as a gift.

I always make macarons with Italian meringue because it gives the mixture so much more stability and makes it a lot harder to overmix. If this is your first time making homemade macarons, check out my guide to making Italian macarons with Italian meringue first which has a detailed breakdown of the whole process.

Jump to:

• Ingredients
• Instructions
• Expert tip
• Equipment
• Storage
• FAQ
• Recipe Card
• Food safety

Ingredients

The art of making macarons can seem complex but once you get the hang of it you'll be a pro! The ingredients for macarons are very specific and it is important to weigh all ingredients precisely using a digital scale. Measuring by volume (for example the US cup system) is not recommended for baking macarons.

Here are the ingredients you will need to make these cute snowman macarons with cinnamon buttercream filling.

Snowman macaron shells

• Ground almonds, also known as almond flour
• Powdered sugar
• Egg Whites
• Granulated sugar

Cinnamon Buttercream filling

• Unsalted butter
• Powdered sugar
• Ground cinnamon

Snowman decorations

• Powdered sugar
• Hot water (to mix with the powdered sugar)
• Dark chocolate chips

You can add food colouring to your icing (we make royal icing for this snowman macaron recipe) to get certain colours and have fun with it!

See the recipe card for all the quantities and full instructions.

Instructions

Macaron batter

1. Prepare and weigh out the ingredients, separating the egg whites from egg yolks if necessary. 
2. Sieve the ground almonds and icing sugar to remove any lumps, then blend them together and place them in a large mixing bowl.
3. Make the almond paste by stirring the egg white into the ground almond/powdered sugar mixture until it is fully incorporated.
4. Dissolve the granulated sugar in the water in a saucepan over medium heat, and once it starts boiling place the sugar thermometer into the mixture. 
5. When the sugar syrup reaches a soft boil temperature of 115 degrees Celsius/240 degrees, start whisking the egg whites to form soft peaks and make the Italian meringue by immediately pouring in the sugar syrup a little at a time util it is all incorporated and the meringue is a smooth, glossy and opaque white.

Macaronage

1. Mix the Italian meringue into the almond paste in three stages.
2. Firmly mix in the first third of the Italian meringue with a metal or wooden spoon to loosen the almond paste and fully combine the two mixtures.
3. Fold in the remaining two-thirds one at a time using the softer spoon or spatula, being more gentle with the final third, do not overmix the batter and make it too slack.

Piping and baking macarons

1. Move the macaron batter to a piping bag and cut half a centimetre tip from the end.
2. Pipe two circles next to one another, just touching, with one smaller than the other to form a snowman shape. Fill the trays leaving a gap in between each snowman as they will spread slightly as they bake.
3. Firmly smack it down onto the work surface twice to settle the Italian macaron batter and get rid of any air bubbles.
4. Bake the macarons for 17 minutes, then remove them from the oven and allow the snowman macarons to cool on the tray.

Cinnamon buttercream filling

1. Cut the butter into small chunks and sieve the powdered sugar and cinnamon together.
2. Whisk the butter until pale and creamy, then slowly add the cinnamon sugar.
3. Move the cinnamon buttercream to a piping bag.
4. Pipe the cinnamon buttercream onto the macaron snowman shells and sandwich them together. To create the effect I did in the photos, use a flower nozzle or closed star in your piping bag.

Decorating macarons

1. Make the royal icing by mixing sieved powdered sugar with a small amount of hot water until smooth, thick and glossy. Add powdered or gel food coloring as you wish.
2. Use the icing to stick chocolate chips onto the snowman macarons and create other decorations.

Equipment

• Weighing scales. Digital is best. Baking is a science, after all, so we need precision! I do not recommend using the cup system to make macarons.
• A sieve to ensure that the powdered sugar and almond flour is as fine as possible. 
• A blender/food processor to thoroughly combine the almond flour and powdered sugar. This ensures a completely smooth finish on your macaron shells. 
• A small saucepan to make your sugar syrup
• A jam or sugar thermometer to measure the temperature of the hot sugar syrup. The sugar syrup needs to be at a particular temperature to make Italian meringue, and it is impossible to judge without a thermometer. The best thermometers for sugar syrup do not allow the bulb to touch the bottom or sides of the saucepan, thus ensuring you are measuring the temperature of the sugar and not the pan. 
• An electric whisk or stand mixer to whisk your room-temperature egg whites into soft peaks before slowly adding the hot sugar syrup. 
• Two large mixing bowls, preferably glass. Try to avoid using a metal mixing bowl for the Italian meringue, as it will conduct heat and prevent the mixture from cooling. 
• A metal mixing spoon for combining ingredients more vigorously.
• A silicon mixing spoon or spatula for further, more gentle mixing. 
• Baking sheets/trays - not high-sided ones, as this builds up too much steam
• Silicon mat or baking parchment paper (but the silicon mats are better and allow for lower waste as they are not single-use)
• Piping bags - to pipe your macarons onto a baking tray and then also to pipe your fillings. 

To create pretty effects when piping buttercream and other fillings, have fun with piping nozzles.

Storage

Store leftover snowman macarons with cinnamon buttercream filling in an airtight container in the fridge and consume within 3 days.

You can freeze macaron shells before filling them, but do not freeze them once filled.

FAQ

Other Christmas macaron flavors

If you love baking homemade macarons then check out some of these other Christmas macaron ideas...

Other Christmas desserts

Recipe Card

Food safety

• Take care when boiling sugar, do not leave it unattended and keep it away from children and animals.
• Clean all surfaces and utensils thoroughly after handling raw eggs.