What a beautiful weekend this was here in the northeast! It was cold, but clear and sunny! Perfect for fall fun… One of our favorite fall activities is apple picking! But, I just can’t go apple picking without coming home with some fresh squeezed Apple Cider!
Everyone in my house has a runny nose right now including my husband and my kids are a bit too young for tea with honey… So, my natural solution to this is to make some Hot Mulled Apple Cider with a touch of honey! And it was a hit. I love hot apple cider just plain, but mulling it with some spices just takes it right out of this world! If you have never tried it, I urge you to try this simple recipe!
Start with some farm fresh apple cider. As you can see, this has no added sugar or preservatives, just delicious apples!
Pour about 1 quart into a medium sauce pan.
Add two full cinnamon sticks.
This is a nutmeg pit… As you can see, it is one that has been well used in recipe after recipe, now it is suitable for the cider! (as always, if you don’t have real nutmeg, please don’t use the powdered stuff, just omit it)
You can slice some orange slices in, but I just like the essence of the orange, so I am just putting in one length of peel.
Some fresh ginger really brings in some good spice to this mulling… I just picked one small nub, broke it off and sliced it up.
I add just one teaspoon of raw local honey… The mulling process actually sweetens the cider a bit by concentrating it, so you don’t need much honey and you could leave this out if you don’t like things too sweet, but the flavor is really yummy, not to mention great for colds and sore throats.
Put in 7 or 8 whole cloves.
Don’t bring this to a boil… As you can see, this is all steamed up, but the second I saw a boil bubble, it came off the stove… watch it, don’t let it boil. You don’t want to waste any! At this point you are ready to strain and serve… AND at this point if you choose to, you could make this an adult beverage by adding in a touch of bourbon or dark spiced rum!
To serve, I fish out one of the cinnamon sticks, shred some orange peel, place it in the mug and strain the liquid in.
Hot Mulled Apple Cider
Serves 4Ingredients:
1 quart apple cider
2 cinnamon sticks
1 tsp. honey
1 orange peel
1 tsp. sliced fresh ginger
1 tsp. whole cloves
1 used nutmeg pit
1 oz. bourbon or dark spiced rum (optional)
Directions:
Place all ingredients into a pot. Heat on high until just before boiling. Remove from heat when steaming. Strain into mugs. Serve with cinnamon stick and some shredded orange peel. Enjoy!
