I started making Hot Spiced Apple Cider a few years ago and now it's become a tradition for me to make it at least once or twice every holiday season.
Tonight we're having our children's program at church, followed by hot chocolate and cookies and I thought a big pot of this would be welcome by the adults so I put some on to simmer.
This stuff is so easy to make and it's just plain delicious. I'm not a big fan of plain apple juice and I don't drink coffee or hot tea, but this stuff? I could drink it all day long!
It will warm you up, put you in a Christmas-y mood and just plain make you feel good. And if drinking it is not enough reason to make it, it also will make your house smell so inviting and heavenly when it's simmering.
Hot Spiced Apple Cider Ingredients
Here's everything you'll need to add to apple juice...
Whole cloves, ground nutmeg, ground allspice, cinnamon sticks and an orange! That's it.
A couple of notes about the recipe. First, I usually use plain apple juice, but once I went to the store and they were totally sold out of apple juice, so I bought apple cider instead.
And you know what? I couldn't tell the difference. So use whichever you like... I don't think it'll make a big difference.
Also, I like to wrap up all of my spices in cheesecloth to simmer. I still drop a few whole cloves into the apple juice, but I like for my Hot Spiced Apple Cider to be clear. It's just a personal preference.
But if you don't have cheesecloth and/or you don't mind it looking a little cloudy, you can put all of the spices directly into the apple juice and it will still be fantastic!
Want to make this recipe in your Instant Pot? Check out my IP Hot Apple Cider Recipe on Pressure Cooker Meals!
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And here is the printable recipe! Enjoy!
PrintRecipe
Hot Spiced Apple Cider
- Total Time: 4 hours 5 minutes
- Yield: 32 1x
Description
Hot Spiced Apple Cider is so easy to make and perfect for the holidays. It’s warm and spicy and great for entertaining. It also makes your house smell amazing!
Ingredients
- 2 gallons apple juice or apple cider
- 1 tbsp whole cloves
- 3-5 cinnamon sticks
- 1 tsp. ground nutmeg
- 1 tsp ground allspice
- 1 orange, thinly sliced
- cheesecloth and bakers twine (optional)
Instructions
- Pour the 2 gallons of apple juice into a large pot. Slice the orange in thin slices and put them in the juice. Place all the spices in a cheesecloth and tie it up with bakers twine.
- Cover the pot and bring it to a simmer. Sprinkle a few whole cloves on top if you prefer. Allow it to simmer for several hours (at least 4 but longer is fine). Your house will smell amazing and the drink is perfect for cold weather and Christmas parties!
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 4 hours
- Category: Beverage
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: apple, apple juice, apple cider, hot apple cider, spiced apple cider, hot spiced apple cider, christmas, holidays, hot
Julie
This sounds delicious, I love the spiced apple they did here in the UK at Costas a few years ago but I'm sure it was full of sugar and artificial stuff. This looks SO much better. The weather has really turned here so I'm looking forward to trying this out.
Daniel
I love people who shares and inspires other to eat and drink healthy for living. I sometimes visit youtube and blogs to have some new recipe and I try myself. Thanks for this recipe, I am going to try this.
★★★★★
Patsy
Fantastic
Rose
Thanks!