Fall Cider

At our pumpkin carving party this year we decided to make a crock-pot hot spiced cider that turned out amazingly.  Here’s the recipe – it would be fantastic for Thanksgiving, Christmas, or anytime in the upcoming cold weather months. 

Ingredients

• 2 quarts apple cider (get the good stuff!  Ours came from a farm and had tons of apple sediment on the bottom) 
• 1 whole apple with ¼ cup whole cloves stuck in the skin
•  4 cinnamon sticks
• 1 large orange, sliced
• You can also float a tea-ball/tea infuser full of cloves if you have one and you like extra spice. 

Instructions

1.    Heat the mixture on medium for about 3 hours in the crockpot or on the stove.  The clove apple will shrivel up and look really mushy – then you know it’s done!
2. If you are adding rum (Captain Morgan’s spiced rum is easy and delicious), then let the cider cool a little so the alcohol doesn’t evaporate.  We turned off the crock pot for 20 minutes or so and added 1/3 of a fifth of rum and it was a real crowd-pleaser.  Please be careful, though - it can be quite strong.                                                                                                                                            *Original recipe by Ginger Hultin 11/1/11