Best Hot Spiced New England Cider Recipes

HOT SPICED CIDER

Steps:

• In a 2-3 quart pan combine cider and brown sugar over low heat until sugar dissolves.
• Add remaining ingredients.
• Bring to a boil, reduce heat and let simmer uncovered 20 minutes.

HOT MULLED CIDER

Steps:

• Simmer the apple cider with orange and spices: Pour the apple cider into a 3-quart saucepan, cover, turn the heat on medium-high. While the cider is heating up, take a vegetable peeler and peel away a couple thick strips of peel from the orange. Press about half of the cloves into the peeled part of the orange. (You can also just quarter the orange and add the slices and cloves separately. I just like seeing the orange bob up and down.) Place orange, orange peel strips, the remaining cloves, and the rest of the ingredients into the sauce pan with the cider. Keep covered and heat the mulled cider mixture to a simmer and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 20 minutes on low heat.
• Strain out the orange and spices: Use a fine mesh sieve to strain the hot mulled cider away from the orange, cloves, and other spices. If you want, you can add a touch of bourbon, brandy, or rum to spike it up a bit. Serve hot. Add a cinnamon stick to each cup if desired.

HOT SPICED APPLE CIDER IN A CROCK POT

Steps:

• Pour enough cider to fill crock pot to ¾ full. Add brown sugar. Stick whole cloves into skin of orange and apple wedges. Place apple, orange and all remaining ingredients into cheese cloth, tie with string and drop into crock pot. Bring to a boil, about 2 to 2 ½ hours on high.
• Once the cider is boiling, reduce setting to low. Keep on low for 2 hours or more before serving. Replenish with additional cider when needed; if cider is cold, return setting to high until heated.
• Serve or have guests serve themselves from the crock pot. If desired, leave a bottle of spiced rum nearby.

BEST EVER HOT SPICED CIDER

Steps:

• 1. I highly recommend making this a day or two in advance as the flavor improves by the hour! Wash orange and lemon (*see step 8 NOTE): Use warm water with NON-scented dish soap (citrus scent okay), and scrub well with vegetable or fingernail brush. Rinse well and dry thoroughly with a towel, then set aside for about 20 minutes. No matter how much you scrub, there will still be some of the wax flaking off after the fruit has set for 20 minutes or so. Just before squeezing, use a dry vegetable brush to remove the offending detritus.
• 2. Pour cider into 5 or 6 quart [non aluminum] pot (I use a crock pot). Set heat to medium high (or high if using a simple crock pot). Put spices in pot with cider. Cover pot.
• 3. After dusting off the last of the wax, cut orange in half and squeeze juice from both halves into pot. Put one half of orange into pot. Dust lemon, cut in half and remove seeds. Squeeze juice from one lemon half into pot and put the squeezed half into the pot (juice from other lemon half can be used if more tartness is desired, but only one half needs to be floated for best flavor... you don't want your cider tasting like Pledge). Stir. Cover pot.
• 4. Simmer, covered, about 45 minutes (longer is better) (one hour in crock pot on high), but do not boil as this unfavorably affects flavor. Ladle cider into mugs, working around the spices (if desired, cloves and allspice berries can be corralled in a large tea ball or a small muslin bag made for such purposes).
• 5. CROCK POT NOTE: Works well in crock pot or slow cooker, but if your crock pot is 4 quarts or smaller you will have to mix this in a larger pot or bowl and transfer amounts suitable to the size of your crock pot. Use high for first hour or so, then switch to low. Do NOT open lid to check during first hour! Every time you do, you set the time back 15 minutes while it builds up heat again.
• 6. VARIATIONS: For a different flavor, add a few thin slices of peeled fresh ginger, or 2 or 3 star anise clusters. You can also add a handful of fresh whole cranberries (washed). Some people insist on adding extra sugar, usually brown, but I find that is too sweet for my palate. However, if you want to try it, use about half a cup to one gallon of cider, or you can even try maple syrup (although I never have). And of course, you can add some alcohol... things like Triple Sec or Grand Marnier are good as are rum, dark or light, and bourbon. Just remember that alcohol evaporates more quickly than water (or in this case, juice) so if you add it directly to the pot while it is actively being heated, the alcohol will go up in vapor fairly quickly. I suggest adding a teaspoon (or more) directly to each cup if you plan to keep the pot on a low burner or in a heated crock pot.
• 7. LEFTOVERS NOTE: If by some strange happenstance you have leftovers, this beverage keeps indefinitely in the refrigerator (leave the spices in, but be sure to remove the orange and lemon halves before storing; I reserve the original cider jugs for this purpose... just be sure to use a funnel when refilling them). The spices will keep it viable for months. I generally take 4 gallons to work during the holidays (we had about 30 people in our office). I usually end up with about a gallon left over (if I'm lucky!). I reheat it by the mug in the microwave, or sometimes just drink it cold straight from the fridge (I have nursed a jug through most of one summer* (see LEFTOVERS NOTE in step 8). Yes, I did, and it was delicious the entire time! [Although, around May I did take out all the spices except one stick of cinnamon]). YUMMM! If you decide to put in more spices than called for (which will bring the spiced flavor up faster in the beginning), be sure to take out all but 6 of both the cloves and allspice and one of the cinnamon sticks when you store it in the fridge otherwise the spices will be overpowering.
• 8. * ASTERISK NOTES *NOTE from step 1: Most fruit in the U.S. are sprayed with non-toxic wax to make them look more appealing. Citrus fruits are no exception. You can skip this step if you want, but the wax can form a cloud on the top of your cider which is unattractive. * LEFTOVERS NOTE from step 7: This started out accidentally as I had drunk so much of it during the holiday season that I actually got tired of it but still had over half a gallon left. It got pushed to the back of the fridge and I forgot about it until May when I did spring cleaning, LOL. I smelled it, testing for mold (I'm allergic and always sneeze when I get a whiff of mold--quite handy when checking leftovers, LOL!). Finding none, I tasted it (cold) and found it quite as delightful as when I put it in the fridge, although the spices were about as strong as I cared for, so I took them out, except for the cinnamon stick as a continued preservative. I had a glass a week until it ran out. It was delightful the entire time and I suspect it could have lasted significantly longer since the flavor never varied (note, however, that the citrus pulp did turn dark; if this bothers you, you can strain it out). Of course, you can also freeze the stuff if you need the room in your fridge, although I have never done so.

HOT SPICED CIDER

Steps:

• Stuff cored apple with cloves.
• Put all ingredients in large pot.
• Bring to boil and simmer for 15 minutes.
• Put on low to keep warm for serving.

SPICED CIDER

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, combine the first 6 ingredients; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Discard cinnamon sticks. Use additional cinnamon sticks for stirrers if desired.

HOT SPICED APPLE CIDER

Steps:

• Take large jug of apple cider and pour into large pot on the stove (or into the crockpot if you don't want to use a burner) Heat to a simmer.
• Then add the following ingredients to cider: orange juice concentrate,cinnamon,nutmeg,ginger and cloves.
• Sometimes I add the cranberry juice cocktail but you may leave it out if you wish.
• Let it all simmer for awhile (half an hour at least) The smell wafting through the house while the cider is simmering is simply heaven.
• Serve the hot spiced cider in mugs.
• For a nice touch,add a whole cinnamon stick to each mug.
• Having a large pot of cider simmering on the stove when company arrives is a sure way to make them very happy that they chose to come over to your house.

HOT SPICED CRANBERRY CIDER

Steps:

• In a large pot, combine apple cider, cranberry juice, brown sugar, cinnamon sticks, cloves and lemon slices.
• Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. That's it! You're done.
• (Juniperwoman's Note: If you like, you can use a slotted spoon to remove cinnamon, cloves, and lemon slices, but we just left them in because they looked so festive! If you do remove the lemon slices, you could float individual slices in each serving cup.).

SLOW COOKER HOT SPICED APPLE CIDER (WASSAIL)

Steps:

• Pour apple cider into a 2.5-quart or larger Crock Pot or other slow cooker. Add cinnamon sticks.
• With a toothpick, poke holes all around the orange, about 1/2 inch to 1 inch apart. Carefully poke the cloves into the toothpick holes in the orange.
• Place orange into the cider in the slow cooker.
• Cook on low until hot and spiced through, about 4 hours. Ladle into mugs along with an ounce or so of rum if using. Place a cinnamon stick in each glass if desired and serve.

HOT SPICED CRANBERRY APPLE CIDER

Steps:

• Combine all ingredients except garnish in a medium saucepan and simmer, covered, 5 minutes.
• Remove from heat and let stand, covered, 20 minutes.
• Strain through a sieve into a heatproof pitcher; pour into heatproof glasses.

HOT SPICED APPLE CIDER

Steps:

• Place the apple cider, peppercorns, one of the cinnamon sticks, the cloves, and the star anise in a medium saucepan. Cut a large (1 by 4-inch) peel from the orange using a vegetable peeler and add it to the pan. Bring the cider mixture to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer for 5 minutes. Strain into a 4-cup glass measuring cup and discard the solids.
• Pour the hot cider into mugs or heatproof glasses. Add 2 tablespoons of bourbon to each mug. Cut the orange in half through the stem, slice crosswise in 1/4-inch-thick half-rounds, and add one slice to each mug. Cut the apple in half through the stem, remove the core, slice crosswise in 1/4-inch-thick half-rounds, and add one slice to each glass.
• Serve hot with a cinnamon stick in each glass for stirring.