Mulled Cranberry Macarons

Instructions

1. Add the powdered sugar and almond flour into a food processor. I like to place my food processor onto my kitchen scale and zero it out, then weigh my powdered sugar and almond flour directly into the food processor. Process the mixture for about 3 - 4 minutes, until it is completely blended and a very fine texture. If you do it like this, then you do not need to worry about sifting your mixture later. Yay!
2. Clean your mixing bow and whisk thoroughly to ensure it is clean with no traces of oil. Try to not touch the whisk or inside of the bowl with your hands too much once it is cleaned. Oils will prevent the eggs from whipping completely.
3. Beat your eggs in your mixer until they form soft peaks. Add in the salt the sifted sugar and beat just until stiff peaks begin to form. Add your extracts and the food coloring if desired (I don't normally like food coloring, but I found some natural food coloring that I wanted to test). And whisk in until completely incorporated in the egg whites.
4. Add your powdered sugar and almond mixture into the egg whites. It's okay to just dump them in if you want. Use a spatula to mix the powdered sugar and almond into the egg whites. I like to go to the side of the bowl and stick my spatula under the mixture and pull up then fold the mixture onto itself. Doing this, means I can constantly check the consistency which is very important in making these macarons. As everything gets mixed together, the mixture will become ribbony. If you mix too much, it will become almost soupy and won't bake right. If you don't mix enough, it will be lumpy and probably crack. You are at the right consistency when a ribbon falls from your spatula back onto the rest of the mixture and the ribbon takes a few seconds to disappear. This is called macaronage.
5. Once your mixture is the right consistency, let everything sit in the bowl for 30 minutes, uncovered.
6. Fit a piping bag with a large round tip that is about ½" in diameter. Put the batter into you piping bag and pipe rounds onto a silicone baking mat (you will need 2 - 3 mats, depending on you macaron size). The one I use has macaron sizes already measured out and it is great! Otherwise, you will have to try and freehand. Make sure your piping bag is at a 90 degree angle over your sheet.
7. Dust the tops of the macarons with cardamom and cinnamon if desired. Allow the macarons to sit for at least an hour so the tops dry out. This is very important so the tops stay smooth and this also helps grow the feet on the bottoms.
8. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
9. Bake your macarons for 10 minutes, turning halfway through. The macarons may need another minute or two. You can check this by gently lifting one off the mat, it may stick a bit, but should still lift. If it is too hard to lift, or it just won't, leave them in for another minute or two, checking every 60 seconds.
10. Remove the macarons and allow to cool completely on the baking sheet before removing.
11. Beat the butter until smooth and creamy. Add the powdered sugar, one cup at a time. Add in the salt and the cranberry sauce one tablespoon at a time. Taste the buttercream as you add the cranberry sauce. Remember, the flavor will become more intense the longer it sits. Add mulling spice ½ teaspoon at a time, again, tasting as you go. Fit a piping bag with a round tip and pipe the buttercream on half of the cookies, then sandwich with the remaining cookies.
12. Macarons taste better the longer they can age. I recommend freezing the macarons in an airtight container for a couple of days - or even a week for them to fully develop their flavor. Of course, I ate mine almost right away and they were still amazing!