Cinnamon Spiced Apple Rings with Red Hots Candy

Old-fashioned spiced apple rings are full of sweet, cinnamon flavor. They're the perfect side dish for pork and turkey. Let them sit in the syrup at least overnight for the best flavor.

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 20

Chilling Time 8

Total Time 8 30

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If you're looking for a special side dish (or relish) to go on the table this vintage recipe is for you!

Bright red spiced apple rings made with Red Hots candy. Title text overlay.

This is such an easy recipe - it's the perfect side dish for French Onion Chicken or Oven Roasted Quail!

Table of Contents

Try it - you won’t regret it!!
🗝️ Key takeaways
🧾 Ingredients
📖 Variations
🔪 Instructions
💭 Tips
👩🏻‍🍳 FAQs
🍎 Best apples to use
📖 Related Recipes
📞 The last word
📖 Recipe
💬 Comments

Try it - you won’t regret it!!

My family has always eaten spiced apple rings for holiday meals. It seemed like they mysteriously disappeared from the grocery store shelves during COVID, and never returned. I decided to give this recipe a try, and I am so glad I did - they are absolutely DELICIOUS!! Try it - you won’t regret it!!

Erica

🗝️ Key takeaways

So much tastier than the ones you buy at the store and so easy to make.
These bright red apple slices are really pretty on the holiday table but they're just delicious anytime.
You can make these with pears, too.

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!

Next time try grilled pear salad. SO good!

🧾 Ingredients

The guijillo chile is totally optional but give it a try. It adds a little extra spicy flavor.

📖 Variations

You can use pears if you wish.
No fresh pears? Go ahead and use canned pear halves. You won't need to cook them - just let them soak in the sugar syrup for a day or so.
Like it spicy? Add a pinch of cayenne. It will amp up the cinnamon flavor and tingle.

🔪 Instructions

Note: This is an overview of the instructions. The full instructions are in the green recipe card below.

Step by step images for making this recipe.

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.

💭 Tips

Expert Tip - CAUTION: I wouldn't try to can this particular recipe. There isn't enough acid to do it safely. Freeze for longer storage

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.
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 OR you can use it in cocktails and sweet sauces. Better yet - try this candy apple pie!
These are so good with a scoop of cinnamon gelato.
These are great with slow-cooker ranch chicken for an old-fashioned dinner.

👩🏻‍🍳 FAQs

Here are the questions I am most frequently asked about this recipe.

How do you cut apple rounds?

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.

How do you keep cut apples from turning brown?

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.

How do you use red spiced apple rings?

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.

My apples did not turn out as red as yours. What happened?

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.

🍎 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

Don't use Red Delicious, Gala, or Fuji - they turn to mush when cooked.

Restless Chipotle has plenty of apple recipes - here are a few of my favorites!

Dutch Apple Pie has tender, buttery apples in a classic, flakey crust and then is topped with sweet, crunchy streusel. It's a classic that everyone needs a good recipe for. PS - this is a GREAT recipe!
Baked Brie with Apples and Bacon is probably one of the most popular appetizers in existence - at least in the fall. This recipe is as pretty as it is yummy - get ready to be bombarded with the "how did you make this?" question.
Bourbon Apple Pandowdy is baked right in an iron skillet which gives it a nice texture and a comforting, welcome-home kind of presentation. It's absolutely addictive.
Cinnamon Apple Sangria is crisp, sweet, and deliciously drinkable for all your fall parties! Adjust the sweetness of the sangria by using a sweeter or drier white wine as the base.
Apple Fritter Bread has all of the yum of apple fritters but in a sliceable quick bread.
We love this easy apple cake!
Grilled Pear Salad isn't apples but it IS delicious!

closeup of bright red spiced apple rings in a bowl.

📞 The last word

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.

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 give it a 5-star rating. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

📖 Recipe

4.76 from 131 votes

Spiced Apple Rings

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Old-fashioned spiced apple rings are full of sweet, cinnamon flavor. They're the perfect side dish for pork and turkey. Let them sit in the syrup at least overnight for the best flavor.

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American - Southern

Prep Time: 10

Cook Time: 20

Chilling Time: 8

Total Time: 8 30

Servings: servings

Calories:217

Author:Marye Audet-White

Ingredients

▢ 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

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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

CAUTION: DO NOT can this particular recipe. There isn't enough acid to do it safely. Freeze for longer storage

You can use pears instead of apples - if you use very tangy apples add ¼ cup of sugar to the water with the red hots.

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.

You'll find more helpful tips and variations in the body of the post.

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.

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First published October 2017. Last updated November 3, 2023, to add variations and other information and to make editorial corrections.

Cinnamon Spiced Apple Rings