Get ready to make one of our favorite side dishes with this spiced apple rings recipe!
These homemade, old-fashioned apple rings are made with firm tart apples, Red Hots candy, and some spice. Perfect for adding a vibrant, sweet, and tangy twist to any meal, especially during the holidays.
Keep reading to find out why this easy recipe is a must-have for your holiday table!
Table of Contents
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🗝️ Key takeaways
- Quick & easy. These spiced apple rings are a colorful addition to any meal, offering a nostalgic taste of sweet apples and cinnamon. They're quick to make and sure to impress!
- Pretty. Perfect as a side dish for holiday dinners, cozy family meals, or any special occasion where you want to add a pop of color and flavor.
- Lemon juice. Using lemon juice helps keep the cut apples bright and beautiful.
There are a lot of ways to make cinnamon apples but I think mine is the easiest.
It just takes a few minutes and once you've made them you can keep them in a jar in the refrigerator for up to a week, or in a freezer container for several months.
You can even save the syrup and use it again in a new batch!
🧾 Ingredients
This is an overview of the ingredients. You'll find the full measurements and instructions in the green recipe card (printable) at the bottom of the page.
The guijillo chile is totally optional but give it a try. It adds a little extra spicy flavor.
📖 Variations
- Leave out the chile for less spicy heat.
- If you don't have the bright red color after 12 hours you can stir in a few drops of red food coloring.
- You can make these with pears, too.
- Like it super spicy? Add a pinch of cayenne. It will amp up the cinnamon flavor and tingle even more.
🔪 Instructions
This is an overview of the instructions. Full instructions are in the green recipe card at the bottom of the page.
- Peel and core your apples. I use a melon baller spoon to take the cores out. So easy that way!
- Slice them and drop them into lemon juice and water in a large bowl to keep them from turning brown.
- In a heavy saucepan melt the candy in the water.
- Add the prepared apples and spices and simmer briefly. Remove from heat and let the apples soak in the syrup for as long as possible.
🤫 Cook's secrets -
CAUTION: I wouldn't try to can this particular recipe. There isn't enough acid to do it safely. Freeze for longer storage
🍎 Best apples to use
The best apples to use for spiced apple rings and similar recipes are apples that hold their shape when cooked or baked. For this reason MacIntosh apples are not a good choice. Choose from the following:
Apple Type | Flavor | Texture | Hold shape? |
HoneyCrisp | sweet | crisp & juicy | yes |
Braeburn | balanced sweet & tart | firm & crisp | yes |
Winesap | sweet; slight spicy flavor | crisp & juicy | yes |
Jonathon | sweet & tangy | crisp | yes |
Jazz | sweet, tart, tangy, slight spice | crisp & juicy | yes |
Granny Smith | very tart | crisp | yes |
🍴 Equipment
- apple corer
- large bowl
- saucepan
- paring knife
- storage container - preferably glass.
🥫 How to store leftovers
Store any leftover spiced apple rings in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to a week. They make a great snack or addition to salads.
Marye's Tip o' the day
If you happen to overcook the fruit don't worry about it - process it in the food processor for apple (or pear) sauce.
💭 Things to know
- Use firm-fleshed, tart apples like MacIntosh, Honey Crisp, or Granny Smith. You can use pears, too!
- 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 apple rings to a ham when you are cooking it and use the syrup in the glaze.
This is such an easy recipe - it's the perfect side dish for French Onion Chicken or Oven Roasted Quail!
👩🍳 FAQs
Have other questions? Ask me in the comments!
After you peel and core the apple turn it on its side. Cut it in half through the middle of the fruit horizontally. Now cut in even sized rings.
There could be a lot of reasons. (1)Different apples have different densities - I used honeycrisp. (2)Letting them cook a little longer helps them to soften enough to soak up more color. (3) Most of all, make them 2 days before serving and just let them sit in the fridge and soak up all the red syrup possible. If they do not turn as red as you'd like add a little red food color.
Lemon juice will help cut apples to maintain their original color. In this candied apple rings recipe the lemon juice is mixed with water and you just dip the rings in the lemon water for a few minutes.
The nice thing about this recipe is because the apples are red from the cinnamon candy it doesn't show if they turn a little brown.
You can use them as a side dish, which is especially good with pork chops or ham, or you can use them as a salad course by serving them on lettuce leaves with other fruit. My mom used to put a scoop of cottage cheese or cream cheese in the center and I like them that way, too. I also like them in ham sandwiches.
📚 Related recipes
🍽️ Repurpose leftovers
- Apple Ring Pancakes: Add apple rings to pancake batter for a delicious breakfast.
- Apple Ring Salad: Mix with greens, nuts, and diced cubes of white Cheddar cheese for a refreshing salad.
- Apple Bread: Chop and use in this Amish Apple Fritter Bread.
📞 The last word
If you're looking for a special side dish (or relish) to go on the table this vintage recipe is for you!
Cinnamon 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 when I was growing up
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 fingertips.
Ooops.
Try leftovers in this recipe for Ham Sliders. Incredible!
If you click on the number of servings in the recipe card you can adjust the measurements up or down for the exact number of servings you need.
If you love this recipe please comment below and give it 5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
📖 Recipe
Spiced Apple Rings
Print Pin Recipe Save Recipe Rate RecipeIngredients
- ¼ 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 - adds a little heat
Instructions
- Add the lemon juice to 2 cups of water.
- Peel and core apples - slice into ½ inch thick rings.
- Drop the apple rings in the lemon juice as you finish each one.
- Heat ½ cup of the remaining water and the cinnamon candies in a saucepan.
- Stir often until the candy is completely melted, adding water as needed to keep the syrup from getting thick.
- Add the guijillo chile (optional), whole cloves, and cinnamon sticks.
- Drain the apple rings and pat dry.
- Gently stir the apple rings into the syrup.
- Cover and simmer, occasionally stirring gently, for 15 minutes or until apples are tender.
- Add the rings to a storage container and cover with the cooking syrup.
- Cover tightly and refrigerate overnight, or about 8 hours. Remove the cloves and cinnamon sticks before using.
- Store unused apple rings in the refrigerator for up to a week.
Notes
- Use firm-fleshed, tart 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.
- 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.
Nutrition Facts
Nutrition information is estimated as a courtesy. If using for medical purposes, please verify information using your own nutritional calculator. Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
This recipe has been tested several times. If you choose to use other ingredients, or change the technique in some way, the results may not be the same.
First published October 2017. Last updated June 19, 2024 to make editorial corrections and for readability.
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Spiced Apples
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Richard Ladwig says
Thank you a million times over! I loved these and their smaller cousins (spiced crab apples). My family had forgotten all about them until I brought (what turned out to be the last few jars of Musselman's spiced apple rings) for the last few holidays. So when my Mom asked me to bring them this last Thanksgiving, and I couldn't say no, I was pleased to find your recipe ready and waiting. It was pretty easy and since I made them the day before, they had plenty of time to soak in all that syrup to the perfect red ring color. I've since bought a couple different apples and pairs to try, since there was plenty of syrup left, and I look forward to the results. Thank you again for helping bring some good old tradition memories back to the family!
Gloria says
Yummy I love the taste I don’t usually like spiced apple rings
Cheryl Lamer says
I really liked this recipe except next time I would make more sauce. Placed them in canning jars so I could turn them upside down to coat the apples evenly.I
Shirl says
The taste is great, but the color is not bright red. They look like one of your pictures. I hope they get red overnight in the fridge. I had to substitute imperals as I couldn't find red hots
Marye says
The longer they sit the redder they get. I've never had a problem getting the color.
Cindy says
Such a fun and tasty twist on apples. Thanks for sharing this yummy snack idea! 🍏🍎🍂😋
Becky Mansfield says
I love making spiced apple rings with cinnamon! These are perfect for fall, especially when we've gone apple-picking and have so many apples to use. Thanks for sharing!
Cindy says
I forgot all about these cinnamon apple rings.. I used to sneak the candy from my mom when I was a kid.
Mel C says
I almost used Gala apples (phew - thank goodness I spotted your comment about them turning to mush!) - These spiced apple rings came out perfectly using Granny Smith apples. They were nice and tart - a perfect compliment to the sweetness and spice of this recipe!
Rita Joy says
These spiced apples rings would be a perfect recipe for a big backyard apple harvest!
Camden Rusincovitch says
I've never had anything like these spiced apple rings before. I'm looking forward to trying these out in the spirit of fall, lol
Cynthia says
I haven't had spiced apple rings since I was a kid! Yum!
Alyssa says
I've never had spiced apple rings before. I love anything cinnamon flavored, so I know these will be the perfect treat!