There are few things better on a cold winter day than a big mug full of spiced apple cider while you wrap presents or simply camp out on the couch next to a fire. My friend, Aubrey, makes a delicious apple cider every time we attend a holiday dinner at her house and, after this past Thanksgiving, I couldn’t help but start making it myself. This is her recipe with a few alterations.
Now, trust me when I say you really can’t get this wrong and you can add more, less or even leave out anything you’re not keen on and replace it with something else. That’s the best thing about holiday cider, it’s so easy to make it your own!
Aubrey uses a blend of different juices in her recipe, but I’m super lazy and just buy a big jug of actual cider at Trader Joe’s. With that, literally all you need is an apple (whatever kind you like), an orange, half a bag of cranberries and a couple of cinnamon sticks! If you like more spice you can add a few dashes of cinnamon and nutmeg.
Of course, if you’re like us here at the Fontenot residence, you’ll greatly enjoy a generous splash of bourbon along with your cider – but that’s totally up to you 😉 It’s delicious with or without!
cute baby helper not required.. but highly encouraged 😉
Ingredients.
- 1 Apple (peeled and chopped)
- 1 Jug of apple cider (I get mine at Trader Joe’s)
- Half bag of cranberries (sometimes we use even less) – these lose their color while cooking so, if you’re going for presentation, I suggest scooping them out and replacing them with new ones before serving!
- 1 Orange (thinly sliced)
- Pinch of nutmeg (to taste)
- 3-4 Pinches of cinnamon (to taste)
How to make.
Ready for this? It’s really complicated.
Get out your crockpot, dump everything in, set it to low for 3-6 hours (depending on your time frame) and walk away! The longer you cook it, the more the flavors are able to blend, but really you can drink it after about 3 hours and its great – or let it simmer away all day!
Tag me!
If you end up making your own version of this cider, be sure to tag me on instagram so I can see how it turned out 🙂 @amandafontenotblog
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