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This Caramel Apple Spice Starbucks copycat recipe is my Fall drink of choice! This delicious warm apple cider drink is THE actual recipe used at Starbucks.
Featured with this recipe
- Ingredients in Starbucks Caramel Apple Spice
- Homemade Caramel Sauce
- How I Got the Real Copycat Starbucks Caramel Apple Spice Recipe
- Recipe Tips from our Readers
- How to Make Starbucks Caramel Apple Spice Cider
- 5-Star Reviews on this Starbucks Caramel Apple Cider Recipe
- Frequently Asked Questions
- More Warm Drink Recipes
- Starbucks Caramel Apple Spice Cider Recipe
When people think of Starbucks seasonal drinks, it’s usually coffee drinks like the classic PSL (Pumpkin Spice Latte). But not our family! Last year, Emily introduced me to another popular drink – the Caramel Apple Spice Starbucks drink and it instantly became my fall season favorite. I went to Starbucks more times a week than I should admit to get their hot apple cider. Of all the apple cider recipes out there, this one is by far the most flavorful, and it’s really easy to make it at home. Perfect for cold days! Whip up a batch of this hot apple cider for your friends and family, and save loads of money from getting a single serving at the coffee shop.
Ingredients in Starbucks Caramel Apple Spice
This delicious Starbucks Caramel Apple Spice drink comes together with just FOUR ingredients! And believe me, it’s the exact recipe that you get from the popular coffee shop (more on that below). Here’s all you need:
- Apple juice – any brand will work. Just use your favorite.
- Starbucks Cinnamon Dolce Syrup – you can also use Brown Sugar Cinnamon Syrup from Torani.
- Whipped cream – a dollop of Cool Whip, a can of spray whip, or homemade whipped cream, your choice!
- Caramel topping – Finish off with a drizzle of caramel sauce or your favorite caramel syrup. We like to get the caramel in the squeeze bottle so it is easier to drizzle.
Homemade Caramel Sauce
Since this Caramel Apple Spice drink only features caramel as a drizzle on top, you may want to stick to store-bought. However, sometimes I want to take things to the next level and I make my own caramel sauce. You can use this delicious sauce as an ice cream topping or a topping for other beverages too!
Ingredients
- 1 cup sugar
- 6 tablespoons salted butter
- ½ cup heavy cream
- (for salted caramel, add 1 teaspoon sea salt at the end of the cooking process)
Instructions
Heat sugar in a medium saucepan on medium heat. Stir constantly with wooden spoon and make sure to scrape the sides and bottom. Sugar will form clumps and eventually melt into a thick brown liquid. Continue to stir constantly. Once sugar is melted, add in the butter. The caramel will bubble up when you add in the butter, so be careful when adding it. Stir until butter is completely melted and combined with caramel. Slowly add the heavy cream. The mixture will bubble up when you add the cream as well. Boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat (and add in sea salt, if using).
How I Got the Real Copycat Starbucks Caramel Apple Spice Recipe
The downside of my love for Caramel Apple Spice was it was burning a hole in my pocket – Starbucks is expensive! Finally I decided to ask the girl at Starbucks how they make it. She said she couldn’t tell me but I could watch her. So she did it all right in front of me. When I asked her how much syrup is in one pump she said “it is supposed to be ¼ oz. but it can vary slightly.” That was all I needed to know.
So then I did some math. 1 ounce = 2 tablespoons so we can figure that .25 ounces = ½ tablespoon. The Starbucks people put 3 pumps of syrup in a 12 ounce cup, making it 1 ½ tablespoons per 12 ounces of apple juice. To simplify it further, 2/3 of 12 ounces is 8 ounces (or 1 cup) and 2/3 of 1 ½ tablespoons is 1 tablespoon. So, for each cup of cider you simply add 1 tablespoon of syrup. Easy enough right?
Recipe Tips from our Readers
- One of our readers commented and let us know that before Starbucks used the Cinnamon Dolce flavored syrup, they actually just used cinnamon syrup. You can find Torani or DaVinci cinnamon syrup for a fraction of the price of the Starbucks brand (just use the same amounts as mentioned in the recipe).
- Another reader mentioned making your OWN syrup (to save even MORE $$) by combining ½ cup water, ½ cup brown sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon, and simmering in a small pot over medium heat for 5 minutes until it reduces.
- A lot of our readers also like making their own whipped cream. You can do this by using a hand mixer or stand mixer. Beat 2 cups of heavy cream with a few tablespoons of white sugar.
How to Make Starbucks Caramel Apple Spice Cider
- Mix the apple juice and syrup in a sauce pan and heat over medium low heat. It should get warm, but not boil. To add more cinnamon spice flavor I like to add a couple of whole cinnamon sticks to the pot as well.
- Pour juice mixture into individual cups.
- Top with whipped cream and caramel topping. Add a few dashes of cinnamon if desired. Serve immediately.
5-Star Reviews on this Starbucks Caramel Apple Cider Recipe
“Oh. My. Goodness. My husband and I LOVE LOVE LOVE this drink! We recently moved to a very small rural area where there are no Starbucks (a place like this really does exist)and I was just thinking I was going to have to treat myself when we go visit family for the holidays. THANK YOU! Now we can make it anytime, yay!!”
Unknown
“I recently tried this delicious drink at Starbucks and loved it. Had it over the holidays almost every day, thanks to gift cards I received for Starbucks. Thanks for sharing the recipe, as I too find their prices too expensive to endulge in beyond the holidays. Happy New Year!”
Deb
“You have made our day! We didn’t even know about the cinnamon syrup. MMMM, it is delicious!!!”
Kathie
Frequently Asked Questions
As far as the apple juice brand, another reader said that Starbucks will often just use a generic brand, so any kind of apple juice will be fine and the flavor will be the same as Starbucks. For the caramel sauce, we like to use Torani sauce, but you can use any caramel sauce or caramel ice cream topping that you like for your caramel drizzle.
Yes! This recipe can easily be doubled or tripled for a large holiday party. Just let it simmer in the slow cooker all day (your house will smell amazing!) and guests can add whipped cream and caramel sauce on top of the whipped cream to make their own unique drink.
Nope this is a drink for non coffee drinkers! Just apple juice, flavoring, and toppings. No additional coffee, espresso, or caffeine in this recipe.
READ NEXT: 25+ Christmas Dessert Ideas
More Warm Drink Recipes
If you love this copycat Starbucks Caramel Apple Cider and want even more variety, then you have got to try our Pumpkin Steamers recipe. It tastes like fall in a mug. If you want to spice things up, then try our Mexican Hot Chocolate. Smooth chocolate with a little spicy kick.. don’t worry, it’s not too spicy. We also have a fun collection of Candy Bar Hot Chocolates (Twix, Almond Joy, and Reeses… I love all three and honestly can’t pick a favorite)!
- Dutch Bros Raspberry Hot Chocolate
- Homemade Peppermint Hot Chocolate
- Homemade Vegan Hot Chocolate
- How to Make a Hot Chocolate Bar
- Unicorn Hot Chocolate Recipe
- Pumpkin Spice Syrup
- Wassail Recipe
- Hot Chocolate Cookies
Starbucks Caramel Apple Spice Cider
Video
Ingredients
- 1 cup apple juice
- 1 Tablespoon Starbucks Cinnamon Dolce Syrup or Brown Sugar Cinnamon Syrup from Torani
Toppings
- whipped cream
- caramel topping
- ground cinnamon
- cinnamon stick
Instructions
- Combine apple juice and syrup in a small saucepan. Heat it on the stovetop to desired temperature. It does not need to boil. You can also heat it in the microwave.
- Top with whipped cream and caramel topping. Add a few dashes of cinnamon and a cinnamon stick for garnish.
Notes
- You can find Torani or DaVinci cinnamon syrup for a fraction of the price of the Starbucks brand. Just use the same amounts as mentioned in the recipe.
- As an alternative, you can make your own syrup by combining ½ cup water, ½ cup brown sugar, and 1 teaspoon cinnamon in a small pot and simmering over medium heat for 5 minutes, until it reduces.
- A lot of our readers also like making their own whipped cream. You can do this by using a hand mixer or stand mixer. Beat 2 cups of heavy cream with a few tablespoons of granulated sugar until it reaches desired consistency.
Sounds SO good! My favorite time of year for special drinks like this with no alcohol! Want to try it, just need the syrup! Thank you!
Nailed it! Just like Starbucks, maybe better. One problem though, sometimes the whipped cream curdles when it hits the cider. Any ideas on how to prevent that?
I’m not sure, I haven’t had this issue. How hot is it when you are adding the whipped cream?
Sooooooo good! And spot on!
Wow! This is so close to the Starbucks version. I made a big batch in my slow cooker last night, but I used Torani brown sugar cinnamon syrup and the Torani caramel. I also added some pie spice to it. Very good!
I am a huge lover of the Starbuck Caramel Apple Cider, and this is every bit as delicious!! I made the homemade syrup too. It’s soooo good!
I love the Starbucks but not the price. I usually keep it to one or two a season because of the $. I used light apple juice and made the cinnamon syrup from your recipe. Whipped cream out the can on top and dusted with cinnamon sugar. My husband and I loved!!!! Oh, and I used aldi Carmel ice cream sauce….it turned out lovely, like a drinkable candy apple!
This is awesome. I love this drink when I’m suffering from one of those colds that you just can’t stop coughing. The juice helps you recover while soothing the scratching throat to keep it from tickling so much.
You kinda just saved me hundreds of dollars a year!!! That and I can’t find many Starbucks that still makes it! Sooo- yeah… this came out amazing… I made enough for a family of 5 so I put it in a pot… but yuuuuuuuum! Almost exact- if not better!
I’m so happy you like it! I try to keep the brown sugar syrup on hand so I can make this regularly. I especially love it during the fall/winter months.
We LOVE this drink but sadly Starbucks won’t sell you the syrup bottles any more. I was told by an employee that it’s company wide. Now I’m on the hunt for the Torani syrup!
Good morning Amanda, In Washington State they sell the syurp at Cash and carry or in major grocery stores, however I’m not sure about the cinimon type. Good luck
Could I do this in a crock pot to have for a large group?
Of course! This recipe could easily be doubled or more!
Can apple cider be used instead of apple juice? I have some left-over from the holidays and need to use it and this looks like a perfect way to enjoy our bon-fire tonight!
Yes 🙂 That would be totally fine
My first time trying the drink at Starbucks the other day and it was amazing. Stumbled across this recipe and will never have to buy one from them again!!! Recipe is spot on. I didn’t have any cinnamon dolce syrup and used the recipe above, it was perfect and FREE as I already had the ingredients in my pantry!! Thanks so much for my new winter “at home” drink!!
Thank you, Angela! I love this recipe too. It is the perfect drink on cold nights!
So excited to see this recipe! I got a caramel apple spice yesterday, and wondered if I could make them on my own. They are so delicious! Can’t wait to try one at home.