Spiced Apple Rings Recipe: Old Fashioned Flavor

This spiced apple rings recipe just couldn’t get any easier! Tangy apples are peeled, cored, and sliced into rings then simmered in a bright red simple syrup made with cinnamon candies. This old fashioned holiday recipe takes just minutes to make – sliced pears can be substituted for the apples.

For this recipe you’ll need: Cinnamon candies, apples, whole cloves, guijillo pepper -optional, lemon juice

There are admittedly a lot of ways to make a cinnamon spiced apple rings recipe but I think mine is the easiest. It just takes a few minutes and once you’ve made them you can keep the bright crimson spiced apple rings in a jar in the refrigerator for up to a week or in a freezer container for several months. I wouldn’t try to can these, though. There isn’t enough acid to do it safely.

So every fall when I was growing up my mom would make these old fashioned spiced apple rings. Sometimes she made them with pears depending on what we had more of. The fruit turned a beautiful crimson color as it simmered and soaked up the spicy-sweet cinnamon candy syrup. The pears were most often cut in half, cored, and simmered that way. On the table mom would put a little scoop of cottage cheese or cream cheese in the center of each pear and it was SO pretty on our holiday table!

The apple rings were usually just fished out of the syrup and placed in a relish dish to be passed as an accompaniment to turkey or pork. I’d often sneak into the refrigerator and grab a slice out of the  jar – not realizing that the rosy syrup left a telltale stain on my finger tips.

Tips for Making Spiced Apple Rings

These are one of the easiest recipes I know of to make AND get the most “ooohs” and “aaaahs” from. Here are a few things to keep in mind –

• Use firm fleshed apples like MacIntosh, Honey Crisp, or Granny Smith
• Watch the candies carefully as you melt them down. You don’t want them to stick and burn.
• The longer the apples (or pears) sit in the red syrup the more flavorful they will be.
• Keep them in glass storage containers – they will dye plastic and I think it gives it a weird taste.
• Use toothpicks to stick the spiced apple rings to a ham when you are cooking it and use the syrup in the glaze.
• If you happen to overcook the fruit don’t worry about it – process it in the food processor for apple (or pear) sauce.
• Save the red cinnamon syrup in the refrigerator. You can reuse it to make more spiced apple rings OR you can use it in cocktails and sweet sauces.
• These are so good with a scoop of cinnamon gelato.

YOU MAY NEED…

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I love glass for food storage! It doesn’t stain, it doesn’t hold odors, and it keeps the food tasting good without allowing the garlic butter to mix with the sugar syrup – if you know what I mean.

Spiced Apple Rings Recipe

Once you see how quick and easy these are you’ll want to keep some on hand all the time! Like this recipe? Please consider leaving a comment and filling in the star rating in the comments below. 🙂 Follow me on Facebook and Pinterest!

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Spiced Apple Rings

Prep Time

10 mins

Cook Time

20 mins

Total Time

30 mins

 

Full of sweet, spicy cinnamon flavor these old fashioned apple rings are the perfect accompaniment to pork and turkey. Let them sit in the syrup at least overnight for the best flavor.

: Side Dish

: American - Southern

Servings: 8 servings

Calories: 217 kcal

Author: Marye Audet

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup lemon juice keeps apples from darkening
• 2 pounds apples , MacIntosh - Granny Smith - Honey Crisp - any firm fleshed apple that holds its shape when cooked
• 3 cups water , divided use -more if needed
• 2 cups cinnamon candy , Red Hots or Cinnamon Imperials - any hard cinnamon candy
• 1 tablespoon whole cloves
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 1 guijillo chile , optional

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

1. Add the lemon juice to 2 cups of water.

2. Peel and core apples - slice into 1/2 inch thick rings.

3. Drop the apple rings in the lemon juice as you finish each one.

4. Heat 1/2 cup of the water and the cinnamon candies in a saucepan.

5. Stir often until the candy is completely melted, adding water as needed to keep the syrup from getting thick.

6. Add the guijillo chile (optional), whole cloves, and cinnamon sticks.

7. Drain the apple rings and pat dry.

8. Gently stir in the apple rings.

9. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes or until apples are tender.

10. Add the rings to a storage container and cover with the cooking syrup.

11. Cover tightly and refrigerate overnight. Remove the cloves and cinnamon sticks before using.

12. Store unused apple rings in the refrigerator.

Recipe Notes

 

You can use pears instead of apples - if you use very tangy apples add 1/4 cup of sugar to the water with the red hots.

 

Nutrition Facts

Spiced Apple Rings

Amount Per Serving

Calories 217

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 0g 0%

Saturated Fat 0g 0%

Cholesterol 0mg 0%

Sodium 5mg 0%

Potassium 121mg 3%

Total Carbohydrates 58g 19%

Dietary Fiber 2g 8%

Sugars 48g

Protein 0g 0%

Vitamin A 1.2%

Vitamin C 6.3%

Calcium 1%

Iron 0.8%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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