Cinnamon Pecan Macaron
Cinnamon Pecan Macaron have the flavor of those fair cinnamon pecans in a macaron cookie. They’re packed with pecan and cinnamon flavors with a hint of caramel in the filling.
This recipe is sponsored by Millican Pecan. All opinions are my own. Thanks for supporting the brands that make A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures possible.
So, remember when I told you I thought I needed a pecan recipe for the Millican pecan sponsor? This is that recipe. I didn’t realize, when I added this recipe, that the previous 2 already had pecans in there. That’s what I get for not completely doing my research when I write these recipes on the signup sheet.
Then again, it is #ChristasCookies week and I typically make a macaron for this event. And with receiving the pecan meal from Millican, you had to know I would make a pecan-based macaron. Their pecan meal is perfect for macaron and really has great flavor!
The first time I made macaron with more than just almonds I made my own nut meal. It was pistachios and then peanuts and then pecans. Back then, I didn’t know about other nut meals. Heck, they might not have even made them back then. Or maybe they did and it was just a specialty ingredient.
I still want to make macaron out of macadamia nuts. I wonder if there’s macadamia nut meal. I’ll have to look that up. I plan on making my own, but if there’s a premade version, that would be easier. Yes, my brain is running rampant this morning because it’s 3:45 am and I have been up almost an hour.
I just had to check and there’s quite a few not flours out there. Pistachio, cashew (YUM!), hazelnut, walnut, peanut, chestnut (very interesting!), Brazil nut, and of course almond flour. Chestnut. That’s one I didn’t even think about. I wonder what it tastes like in a macaron. That might be on the blog in the near future.
I have walnuts in the freezer because I planned on making macaron with them. Guess I don’t have to now! Putting the nuts in the freezer is a trick I learned in the first macaron class I took in Sur La Table. Mom sent me there as a birthday present so I could learn how to make these cookies the proper way.
Putting the nuts in the freezer solidifies the fats that are in there making them easier to turn into nut meal. With some of the higher fat nuts like macadamia nut, you will probably just wind up making nut butter if you don’t freeze them first. And you still have to be careful when making the nut meal with any nut. I would put the blade in the freezer, too, to prevent the room temperature blade from turning your nuts into butter instead of meal.
These cinnamon pecan macaron are a nod to those cinnamon pecans you get at the fair. I added a little caramel to the buttercream for that rich flavor to enhance the cinnamon pecan shells. And those shell, I have to tell you, taste like those delicious pecans from the fair!
Now, I’ve made pecan meal macaron before. There’s Derby pie macaron and butter pecan macaron on the blog. Yes, I can’t believe there’s only two, too. I’ll have to remedy that and make more.
Anyway, for the Derby pie I made my own pecan meal and it smelled delicious baking but didn’t maintain that pecan flavor when they came out of the oven. The butter pecan macaron smelled amazing and kept their flavor. I’m convinced it’s because of the Millican nut meal.
And these cinnamon pecan macaron have great pecan flavor, too!
I don’t know why I was surprised, but I really was. Sometimes I imagine how these cookies will taste in my head and sometimes I nail it and sometimes I don’t.
The pepperoni pizza macaron? Nailed it! The berry sangria? Not so much. It’s the sangria part that just doesn’t come through. I mean, it doesn’t taste like wine. At all. But the shells taste like delicious berries! Don’t get me wrong on that one. I’ll have to find a better wine based buttercream to put in the middle.
No matter how many times I make macaron, I am like a kid in the candy store when I see those pretty little feet form. There’s only been a few times where that hasn’t happened since I took the course. And, of course, it’s always because of something I put in the meringue. Like the butter pecan macaron.
I made those cookies, I kid you not, four times. And the first time they didn’t come out I had my suspicions it was the less than par butter extract. When they say you have to be careful with oils and alcohols in your meringue, they’re not kidding! Not that I added it to the meringue while making it. They never would have formed stiff peaks if I had. But I did add it to the shells which kept them from forming feet.
So, if your flavoring has high alcohol or oil content, you might want to keep it to the buttercream instead of adding it to/ the shells. Which really sucks sometimes because the success and the only reason everyone raves about my macaron is that I do flavor the shells. This is a missed opportunity in the commercial macaron market.
I get why, though. It’s not cost effective to add flavoring to their mass produced macaronage. But they could split them out, like they do for color, and add flavorings then. I’ve done that with the berry sangria macaron. One half is strawberry and the other half is blueberry. Yes, the blueberry didn’t really do as well because those berries don’t freeze dry like strawberries. Just throwing that out there.
That just means when I go pro, I will corner the market and have more success with my mac truck. It’s a pipe dream. Maybe if I win the lottery and don’t have to work for a living and can career paths and start a macaron truck. That I will call Mac Truck. I wonder if Mack Truck would mind my copying their branding. Hmm….

Cinnamon Pecan Macaron
Cinnamon Pecan Macaron have the flavor of those fair cinnamon pecans in a macaron cookie. They’re packed with pecan and cinnamon flavors with a hint of caramel in the filling.
Ingredients
For the shells:
- 2 ounces almond meal
- 2 ounces Millican pecan meal
- 7 ounces powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 4 ounces egg white, room temperature
- Pinch cream of tartar
- 50 grams granulated sugar
For the buttercream:
- 1/2 cup butter flavored shortening
- 1 1/2 to 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon meringue powder
- 2 teaspoons caramel sauce
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 to 3 teaspoons whipping cream
Instructions
- Pulse the powdered sugar and the almond flour in a food processor to form a fine powder. Sift three times into a large mixing bowl. Set aside.
- Place the egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer (or large, metal mixing bowl). Sprinkle the cream of tartar over the eggs and hand mix the two together with the whisk attachment for the stand mixer (or hand mixer).
Fasten the whisk attachment and beat the mixture on medium speed until foamy. - Slowly add the granulated sugar and continue to beat on medium speed until soft peaks form.
- Increase the speed to high and beat until stiff peaks form.
- Pour 1/3 of the almond mixture into the bowl with the meringue. Fold the ingredients together with a large spatula until incorporated.
- Continue adding the nut mixture and folding until all the almond mixture is incorporated into the meringue and the mixture should drip slowly off the spatula; like lava flowing. (Think conditioner dripping out of a bottle. That works for me.)
- Transfer the batter to a large piping bag fitted with a 1/2 inch tip and pipe 1 1/3 inch rounds onto a silpat covered baking sheet. There are several different templates out there. Two that I like are here and here.
- Preheat oven to 325.
- You’re going to LOVE this next part! Once all the batter has been piped or your sheets are full, grab the edges of the pan, secure the silpat with your thumbs (or any extra batter) and rap the pans on the counter. That’s right! You heard me! Bang them on the counter!! This releases any remaining air bubbles in the meringue.
- Continue rapping the sheets, turning occasionally, until no more air bubbles surface. Allow the macaron to rest on the counter at least 30 minutes or more depending on the humidity level of your kitchen.
- Once they’ve rested and the tops are no longer sticky to the touch, bake at 325 for 7 to 9 minutes. Rotate the pans front to back and top to bottom and bake an additional 7 to 9 minutes.
- Do the wiggle test to see if the meringue is cooked; carefully grab the top of the shell and see if it moves easily from side to side when wiggled. This indicates that the meringue isn’t completely cooked. Continue to cook in 2 to 3 minutes intervals until they no longer wiggle.
- Remove from heat and allow to cool completely before filling.
- Place the butter shortening in the bowl of a stand mixer (or large mixing bowl) along with the meringue powder, cinnamon, and caramel sauce. Beat until creamed together.
- Slowly add the powdered sugar a half cup at a time until thicker than desired.
- Add 2 to 3 teaspoons of the heavy whipping cream until the desired consistency is reached.
- Pipe buttercream on one shell and top with a shell of matching size.
For the shells:
For the buttercream:
Nutrition Information
Yield
18Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 226Total Fat 10gSaturated Fat 4gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 5gCholesterol 15mgSodium 55mgCarbohydrates 34gFiber 1gSugar 32gProtein 2g
Thursday Christmas Cookie Recipes
- Candy Cane Cookies by Blogghetti
- Cherry Coconut Jumbles by That Recipe
- Cinnamon Pecan Macaron by A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
- Cran-Raisin Oatmeal Cookies with Grape Nuts by Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice
- Grinch Shortbread Bites by An Affair from the Heart
- Slice n’ Bake Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Cookies by Books n’ Cooks
- White Chocolate Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies by Swirls of Flavor
Another beautiful macaron from the macaron queen! I love this flavor profile. I’m all about pecans.
Thank you! These were SO GOOD!
I had hoped you’d be making a macaron! They sound amazing. I freeze my nuts so they keep longer but I didn’t know about the science behind it for grounding them into meal.
Thank you! I didn’t either until I took that class, but it does make sense now that you think about it.
You are truly the QUEEN of the Macaroon recipes!! I think I may have a new favorite, and THAT is saying something with all of the options you have! These look perfect!
Thank you! I truly enjoy making them.
Definitely macaron perfection! I want to eat them all…seriously!!!
Awww. Thanks!