Ally
I’m SO excited to share this one with you because it’s officially become a fall tradition in my house: mulled (and spiked!) hot apple cider!
Last year on Halloween, Taylor and I were still a fairly new couple. Because of that, he knew I didn’t like scary movies, (his favorite) and didn’t push it too hard, but I was trying to be compromise-y, so I told him we could do one scary movie a year on Halloween. It could be a little tradition. I agreed to watch Friday the 13th with all the lights off. A huge step for me. Now, he drags me to scary movies in the real movie theater which are terrifying, (looking at you, Conjuring 2).
But I digress. That night, I made this spiked hot apple cider that simmered away on the stove all night with lots of fruit and spices. It was easily the best part of the night, and I knew it had to be part of our Halloween tradition every year. This year I made it, and it was even better. Probably because we substituted last year’s rum for rye whiskey, but that’s personal preference 🙂
This is the coziest hot apple cider recipe I’ve ever tasted. Plus, you get the added benefit of your house smelling amazing. If we ever decide to throw a holiday party, I know the first thing on the menu will be this cider.
This is incredibly easy to make, once you learn how to stud an apple of course. How do you stud an apple? Great question. Get some whole cloves, and stick them into the apple like pushpins. They can poke your fingers, so be careful! This apple will simmer away with orange slices, cinnamon sticks, allspice, nutmeg and brown sugar to make the best apple cider ever.
Oh, one more thing: don’t add the alcohol until you put the cider in your cup. One batch I made had the rum simmering in the pot, and all the alcohol burned off. Don’t make that mistake 😉
- 2 quarts apple cider
- 1 apple
- 2 teaspoons whole cloves
- 1 orange, sliced
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon allspice
- ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 2 cinnamon sticks, plus more for garnish
- 1 cup whiskey or dark rum, optional
- To stud an apple, push the whole cloves into the skin of the apple like pushpins.
- Fill a large pot over medium-low heat with apple cider.
- Add the studded apple, the orange slices, sugar, and all the spices.
- Allow to simmer at least 10 minutes before serving, and reduce the heat to low to keep warm. This would also be great to keep in a slow cooker!
- Fill a mug with a cup of the cider, add a shot of whiskey if you'd like, and garnish with a cinnamon stick.
[…] used apple cider as the cooking liquid in this situation because I happened to be making Mulled (and Spiked!) Hot Apple Cider at the same time. Any kind of stock, wine, or just plain apple juice would work too […]