Fall is in the air, but iced coffee is still on the menu! This
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Hello fall and hello apple season! What I consider the very best time of year.
I spent last fall very into
This copycat version is incredibly easy to make and tastes just like the one you get at the coffeeshop.
It's so perfect for that in-between time when fall is in the air, but it's still too hot to drink hot coffee. Or for those of us who drink iced coffee all year round (you know who you are!).
The drink tastes just like a slice of chilled apple crisp complete with lots of apples, oats, and sweetness! Oh, and don't forget the coffee, obviously.
🧋 What is an iced macchiato?
Many people don't realize, but a macchiato at
The word "macchiato" translates to "marked" from Italian, meaning the espresso is "marked" by a little bit of milk foam.
But
So, at
❓ How did the recipe change?
If you're thinking the Apple Crisp Macchiato tastes a bit different in 2022 and beyond than it did in 2021, you're right! Instead of making the drink with 2% milk and regular espresso,
Of course, you can order it however you want, but this is how the standard comes if you simply order an "Apple Crisp Macchiato" iced or hot.
And these changes actually make a lot of sense! The oatmilk makes the drink taste a lot more like an actual slice of fresh baked apple crisp since most apple crisp recipes are made with oats.
And the blonde espresso seems to complement the apple flavors much better than a richer coffee.
❤️ Why you'll love this recipe
If you're a fan of the Iced Apple Crisp Macchiato at
And it's totally customizable, too, so you can make it exactly how you like it. See below for lots of ways to modify it and also know that if you're not a fan of oat milk (I know many aren't), you can use a different kind of dairy or a nondairy alternative.
And, of course, you like really sweet drinks, you can add as much syrup as you want... Nobody here will judge you!
If you're not into iced, you can check out my hot version of the Apple Crisp Macchiato here. If you're not into coffee, try this Iced Apple Crisp Nondairy Cream Chai. And if you're not into iced or coffee, try the Caramel Apple Spice.
🗒 Ingredients
Here's everything you need to make this drink from scratch. But see notes below for syrup recommendations in case you'd rather purchase it. And be sure to view the recipe card at the bottom of this post for ingredient amounts and full recipe instructions:
- Apple brown sugar syrup (store-bought or recipe below)
- Oat milk
- Ice
- Blonde espresso or coffee of your choice (I recommend Starbuck's Verdana Blend... You can also get it in K-Cup form), cooled
- Ground cinnamon, for topping if desired
Before you whip up a drink, you'll want to make the homemade apple brown sugar syrup.
However, if you aren't interested in making your own, you can purchase a bottle- this apple brown sugar syrup is the exact one
But you could also mix together an apple syrup and a brown sugar syrup for a similar flavor.
If you're making the syrup on your own, here's what you need:
- Water
- Brown sugar (I recommend dark for more caramel flavor, but you can use light too )
- Sliced apples
- Ground cinnamon
🍎 How to make apple brown sugar syrup
This syrup is SO easy to make on your own. I have an entire post detailing how to make it, but am also sharing details with you below.
Just put water, sugar, sliced apples, and cinnamon in a medium saucepan and bring mixture to a boil.
Once boiling, lower heat and let simmer for about 15-20 minutes, until mixture thickens and apples have softened.
Strain mixture into a bowl, being sure to press down on the apples with a wooden spoon or spatula to extract as much juice as possible.
Keep syrup in bowl or pour into a mason jar and place in fridge to cool completely before using.
It will continue to thicken as it cools.
You can make this ahead of time and keep it in your fridge until you're ready to use in the iced apple crisp macchiato... It should keep for about a month when stored properly.
You should be able to get 6-7 drinks with a batch of this if you make the iced macchiato recipe as instructed and you can easily double the recipe to make more.
Now that your apple syrup is done, you're ready to mix up your iced coffee drink!
☕️ How to make an Iced Apple Crisp Oatmilk Macchiato
This part is SO easy. Simply add apple brown sugar syrup to the bottom of a cup. I recommend using 1 ½ oz. of syrup as this tends to equal about 3 pumps.
It's very important to add the syrup to the bottom of the cup... I tried mixing it with the espresso initially and it all immediately sunk right down to the bottom messing up the layers of the drink.
Pour oat milk over the syrup. For this recipe, you'll use about ¾ cup of oat milk.
And then add a generous amount of ice to cup.
And slowly pour the cooled espresso over the ice. You want it to sit on top of the oatmilk for the macchiato "look," so pouring slowly is key.
Starbucks uses 2 shots or 2 oz. of espresso in their version of the macchiato (I always add more though!).
And then top the drink with a little more apple brown sugar syrup.
They're drizzle does have a little nutmeg in it, though, so you can sprinkle a little nutmeg on top if you want to. I like to add a little ground cinnamon, too.
And your Iced Apple Crisp Oatmilk Macchiato is ready for fall sipping! I am obsessed with the pretty layered look of the macchiato.
And while it's certainly more milk than a true Italian macchiato, it really works for this particular drink and tastes just like a delicious slice of apple crisp.
Though I should tell you that not everyone loves this drink and it actually seems to be a very divisive seasonal coffee. I've seen lots of people claim it tastes like a candle.
But I personally love the fruity sweet flavors and the way they combine with the oat milk and light coffee flavor.
If you love this one, you might also want to try my copycat recipe for the Apple Crisp Oatmilk Shaken Espresso.
💡 How to customize drink
There are so many ways you can make this drink your own, so feel free to experiment and find the combination that works best for you! Here are some ideas:
- If the drink is too sweet or not sweet enough, modify the amount of syrup you're using.
- If you prefer more coffee, add more. I usually add between 3-4 shots to my drinks 😬
- Add a caramel drizzle for some extra sweetness and a caramel apple-like flavor.
- If you don't like oat milk or just don't have it, you can use absolutely any kind of milk or nondairy alternative that you want.
- Add vanilla sweet cream cold foam for a fun topping with added creaminess.
- Add pumpkin cream cold foam for the ultimate fall apple and pumpkin combination drink!
- Mix in another flavor of syrup... I especially recommend cinnamon dolce syrup.
Let me know how you like to customize your Iced Apple Crisp Oatmilk Macchiato!
👩🍳 More Starbucks copycat recipes
I love recreating my favorite
And the Iced Apple Crisp Nondairy Cream Chai is a 2024 fall menu addition!
But I'm pretty sure the Strawberry Acai Refresher never goes out of style.
And when you can make it at home, neither does the apple crisp macchiato!
How do you like to customize your fall coffee drinks?
📖 Recipe
Iced Apple Crisp Oatmilk Macchiato
Ingredients
- 1 ½ oz apple brown sugar syrup, plus more for drizzle (recipe below or store-bought)
- ¾ cup oat milk
- Ice
- 2 oz brewed blonde espresso (or strong coffee), cooled
- Ground cinnamon, for topping if desired
- Ground nutmeg, for topping if desired
Apple Brown Sugar Syrup
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup brown sugar (I recommend dark for more caramel flavor, but you can use light too ), packed
- 2 cups sliced apples (from 1-2 apples)
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Put apple brown sugar syrup into the bottom of a cup.
- Pour oat milk over the top of the syrup. Add a generous amount of ice to cup
- Slowly pour espresso over the top of the ice.
- Drizzle top with additional syrup and cinnamon and nutmeg, if desired.
Apple Brown Sugar Syrup
- Put water, sugar, sliced apples, and cinnamon in a medium saucepan and bring mixture to a boil.
- Once boiling, lower heat and let simmer for about 15-20 minutes, until mixture thickens and apples have softened.
- Strain mixture into a bowl, being sure to press down on the apples with a wooden spoon or spatula to extract as much juice as possible.
- Keep syrup in bowl or pour into a mason jar and place in fridge to cool completely before using. Syrup will continue to thicken as it cools.
Notes
- For the apple brown sugar syrup, I recommend using a sweet apple like Honeycrisp, Fuji, Gala, etc.
- You should get about 1 ¼ cups of simple syrup with this recipe and it should keep for about a month when stored in an airtight container in your fridge.
- Note that time estimate above does not factor in chilling of syrup.
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Amy says
I used some apple butter I'd made instead of the syrup: so yummy! Going to make the syrup once I've run out of apple butter 🙂
Chloe says
How do I make the coffee do I brew it hot and then cool it ?
Sues says
Hi Chloe- You can certainly cool it down if you want, but Starbucks actually adds the coffee hot and mixing it with ice and other ingredients cools it. I do prefer to cool mine down a bit first, but it's not necessary if you don't have time!
Valorie says
Love your drink recipes! I actually like this Apple Syrup more than I like the one Starbucks uses! A question though, how would you recommend up sizing the drink to make like, a Venti sized drink? I've tried experimenting but I can't seem to get the proportions right. Thank you!
Sues says
Hi Valorie! I'm so glad you like the syrup! Here's what I would use to make a venti based on the fact an iced grande is 16 ounces and an iced venti is 24 ounces: 2.25 ounces syrup, 1 1/8 cups oat milk, 3 ounces espresso. I hope this is helpful!
Colby says
I need help. I made the syrup but it never thicken up. What recommendations do you have?
Sues says
Hi Colby- I would put it back in a saucepan, add a little more sugar, and simmer it for longer. The only thing I can think that wouldn't cause it to thicken is if it wasn't simmered long enough or if your apples were super watery with little sugar. So adding sugar and simmering more should definitely help!
Luna says
Brown sugar gives a butterscotch taste, not a caramel taste. There is no molasses in caramel.
Sues says
Hi Luna- there is no caramel in this drink. The brown sugar is in the apple brown sugar syrup. Yes, you would use brown sugar to make butterscotch and not caramel; however, "caramel" is certainly one of the flavor notes of brown sugar and using dark will deepen those flavors over light. I hope that helps!