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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.
Before Cinnamon Dolce syrup was introduced they just used plain old cinnamon flavored syrup. You can buy Torani or DaVinci syrups at Business Costco or Cash and Carry for about $3.50/bottle saving you even more money.
P.S. Cinnamon Dolce is just cinnamon/brown sugar flavor (sweet cinnamon). I’m not sure if other brands have comparable flavors.
I worked at Starbucks for 5.5 years. It’s amazing how simple most of their drinks are to recreate. This is exactly how it’s made. You could even make your own cinnamon simple syrup if you wanted.
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!
You have made our day!! We didn’t even know about the cinnamon syrup. MMMM, it is delicious!!!
I will say that I have tried this recipe and it is spot on. I have tweaked it some by adding caramel to the bottom before pouring the hit juice in and then mixing it together and it tastes so good. I still added the whipped cream & caramel to the top. So so good. Saving myself a lot of $$$$$$.
I also noticed at my local Starbucks that the apple juice they use is the el cheapo brand from the store…they had the bottles all lined up and I could see the brand name.
I also found how to make the cinnamon syrup at home for even more cost savings:
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
Simmer in a pot over medium heat for 5 minutes while mixture reduces. Add 1 tbsp per 8 oz of cider per the recipe above.
Soooooo trying this ASAP!! I keep raving to my husband about how delicous this stuff is. But I think he would have a cow over the bill if I ever took him there. So excited!! Thank you!
I really fell in love love to my drink caramel apple spice amazing that why I love it and my wife can make for me one 😉 like everyday!!!! I will make give you treat in Love!!!!
Love the recipe! If you have an espresso machine/steamer, I usually just mix all that (Cinnamon Dolce, I add the Caramel with the cinnamon dolce, and apple juice) and then put it under the steamer to heat up 🙂 and then “fancy” it up with whipped cream and little caramel drizzle on top! Perfect fall drink. And to make it more “adult”, a little amaretto or grand marnier 🙂
Divine!!!! Hot Chocolate Maker?? Which kind to you have?? Would you recommend buying one? Love all your recipes!! Thanks!!!
I just have the Cocomotion brand hot chocolate maker. I think I got it at Walmart for like $10. Nothing fancy but it does the trick! You don’t need one for the recipe but it makes it nice and frothy and it mixes it up really well. Thanks for the compliments!!!
Oh my gosh can I tell you how much I love you right now?!!! This is one of my most favorites! Yay!!!! THANK YOU!
mmmmmm….sounds yummy. Just sent my husband to Starbucks and picked up a bottle! This will perfect for our Christmas Eve Dessert beverage! 🙂
I just used the caramel in the jar that you put over ice cream. I just did a heaping spoonful. You just drizzle it over the whipped cream so you can put as much or as little as you want on it and it won't really affect the taste.
Enjoy!
Erica
hELP!!! What kind and how much caramel sauce do you use?? This looks soooo good!!! I love your website!!!
THANK YOU!! So good & perfect for the upcoming winter season.
Hi! Thanks for the recipe. I bought some syrup at Starbucks and they told me it was only good for a week or so. Has yours lasted longer than that? Do you store it in the fridge or just on the shelf?
I am sure they are similar to Torani syrups, which last a month or so after being opened in the pantry (not refrigerated). I have actually used mine for up to 3 months without any issues. Hope this helps!
i love these too! and disneyland has even a better version.
I look forward to trying your recipes! Love the simplicity!
OH MY! I LOVE this stuff! Can't wait to try it out myself! Thanks!
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!!