Apple Crisp Macchiato

The Apple Crisp Macchiato rivals the flavors of everyone’s favorite pumpkin coffee. Spiced apple syrup pairs beautifully with espresso and milk to create a hot or iced drink.

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Copycat Starbucks Apple Crisp Macchiato recipe

Move over, pumpkin spice latte. There’s a new girl in town: the Apple Crisp Macchiato.

This fruity coffee drink is the most fabulous drink for the fall season.

If you’ve been wanting to try this copycat Starbucks drink at home, you absolutely can.

Start with a homemade apple syrup made with real apples and spices. It’s simple and sweet and works in cocktails as well. Then combine it with milk and espresso, hot or iced.

Let’s make this delicious coffee drink together!

More apple recipes: Apple Cider Sangria • Apple Cider Mule • Caramel Apple Mimosa

Why you’ll love this recipe

Starbucks fans will love making this copycat drink at home:

• The Apple Crisp Macchiato can be served hot or iced.
• Homemade apple syrup adds an incredible apple flavor.
• It is easy to make at home — especially if you have an espresso maker (but you’re not out of luck if you don’t have one).
• They are delicious, refreshing and a cozy afternoon pick-me-up.

What is a macchiato?

In Italian, the word “macchiato” means “marked” or “stained.” When it comes to coffee, it means espresso coffee with a little milk.

The caramel macchiato is a coffee drink sold at Starbucks coffee shops. It is made inverted, so the milk and syrup are added first and then the espresso is added on top.

This means the drink is a little bit sweeter at the bottom and gets less sweet as you sip, unless you stir it up with your straw or a spoon to equalize the sweetness.

Starbucks also carries other flavors of macchiatos, including:

• Coconutmilk Mocha Macchiato
• Iced Cinnamon Almondmilk Macchiato
• Apple Crisp Oatmilk Macchiato
• Hazelnut Macchiato
• Espresso Macchiato

What is an Apple Crisp Macchiato?

The Apple Crisp Oatmilk Macchiato is one of the drinks in the Starbucks fall line-up of seasonal beverages, alongside the pumpkin cream cold brew. It was a new drink added in 2021. 

It’s essentially a caramel macchiato, but with spiced apple syrup instead of caramel sauce.

Macchiatos are made upside-down: The syrup and milk are added first, then the espresso on top. The drink can be served ice or in a hot version. 

Ingredients

The apple macchiato is made with simple ingredients. Here’s what you want to get from the grocery store to make the apple macchiato at home:

• espresso: Starbucks uses its blonde espresso, which is a lighter roast. A dark or medium roast also work well to pair with the sweet apple syrup. You can also use any very strong brewed coffee or cold brew.
• milk of choice: Oat milk is what Starbucks uses, but you can use almond milk, whole milk, 2% milk or half-and-half too.
• apple simple syrup: You can buy apple syrup or make your own with real apples and spices. It tastes like apple pie.
• ice: Not needed if you want to make a hot macchiato!

Variations and substitutions

Hot apple macchiato: Use steamed milk and no ice to make this a hot drink.

Caramel apple macchiato: Make it like the caramel version by using apple syrup with the milk but drizzling caramel sauce over top. Or use half apple syrup and half caramel syrup.

Decaf apple macchiato: Stock up on decaf espresso if you need your afternoon pick-me-up to pack less of a punch.

Cinnamon sugar rim: Rim the glass with cinnamon sugar to give it more of a fall flavor. Or top the drink with a pinch of ground cinnamon. 

Coffee ice cubes: Freeze coffee into ice cube trays ahead of time. When added to a drink, it becomes infused with more flavor as the ice melts.

How to make espresso

The easiest way to make this copycat drink is with an espresso machine. Personally, I use a Nespresso machine.

I love having this on hand for easy lattes and cappuccinos. It is definitely the easiest way to make espresso drinks at home.

But if you don’t have an espresso machine, you can use very strong coffee or you can brew espresso another way, such as:

• With an Aeropress: Learn how to use this easy method for making coffee and espresso. I have tried this before and it’s really delicious!
• With a stovetop espresso maker: You can make your pumpkin spice latte on the stove by making your espresso in this cute little pot!
• Using Instant espresso powder: This is probably my least favorite method because fresh is better, but the instant stuff can still be good in a pinch, especially if you are traveling or can’t access these other methods.

Check out these tips for making a latte without an espresso machine. For steamed milk, you can use a milk frother. 

Homemade apple syrup

To make this ultimate fall drink, the key ingredient is the spiced apple drizzle that goes into the recipe. 

You can  buy apple syrup  but it’s actually quite easy to make at home, plus it will have natural flavors versus artificial ingredients. You’ll want to use real apples and whole spices like cinnamon sticks, cloves and nutmeg.

Homemade apple syrup comes together with sugar and water on the stove. You’ll wind up with a sweet spiced apple crisp syrup with all the flavor of apples. You can use white sugar or brown sugar or a mix of both.

Leftover syrup? Use it to make an apple pie old-fashioned with your favorite bourbon. You can also drizzle it over apple pie.

How to make an iced apple crisp macchiato

Ready to make your own own apple macchiato? It is super simple! Here’s what to do:

First, fill a tall cup or glass with ice. Add apple syrup and milk to the glass and stir them together to combine. (Skip the ice and use steamed milk if you want a hot drink.)

Then, add the shot of espresso over the top. If you are making an iced macchiato, the espresso should be slightly cooled. The espresso will sit on top and blend slowly into the cream layer to make a pretty gradient, ombré look.

Drizzle apple syrup over the top of the ice around the edge of the glass so that it drips down and creates a pretty effect.

Tips & tricks

For an iced drink, the espresso should be slightly cooled so that it doesn’t melt the ice. 

Ensure that the apple sauce is drizzled around the edge of the glass, not directly over top of the ice. You don’t want it to be stuck on the ice — you want it to seep down between the ice and the inside edge of the glass.

Be sure to add the ingredients in the order described. To get the layered, ombré effect, you need to add them in the correct order:

1. Add syrup and milk first.
2. Then add ice cubes.
3. Add your shots of espresso.
4. Finally, add caramel sauce to the top of the drink.

If you wish, you can decorate the glass with caramel drizzle before adding any of the other ingredients, but it’s not necessary as the caramel will drip down around the edges of the glass.

Sprinkle with apple pie spice or ground cinnamon.

What to serve with Apple Crisp Macchiatos

Enjoy this copycat Starbucks drink with some fall coffee-time treats as well.

Dust madeleines with cinnamon sugar or serve them with apple pie bars.

This delicious drink would also be great with a slice of copycat Starbucks pumpkin bread — a must, if you ask me!

It would be a great coffee drink to serve after dinner at Thanksgiving alongside a slice of apple, pumpkin or pecan pie.

FAQ

More fall coffee recipes

• Cinnamon Dolce Latte
• Gingerbread Latte
• Irish Cream Cold Brew
• Iced Brown Sugar Oat Milk Shaken Espresso