Best Hot Spiced New England Cider Recipes

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 NEW ENGLAND CIDER

Steps:

• Combine cider, syrup, lemon juice, and spices and heat thoroughly, but do not boil.
• Remove spices.
• Put a cinnamon stick in each cup to drink through and serve hot.

EASY HOT SPICED CIDER

Steps:

• In a 1-1/2-qt. slow cooker, combine the first five ingredients. Place cinnamon stick and cloves on a double thickness of cheesecloth; bring up corners of cloth and tie with string to form a bag. Place bag in slow cooker., Cover and cook on low for 1 hour. Discard spice bag; continue to cook 1-2 hours or until heated through.

HOT SPICED CIDER

Steps:

• In a Dutch oven, combine the first five ingredients. Place the cinnamon sticks, cloves and allspice on a double thickness of cheesecloth; bring up corners of cloth and tie with string to form a bag. Add to the pan. Cook, uncovered, over medium heat for 10-15 minutes or until flavors are blended (do not boil). Discard spice bag.

HOT SPICED CIDER

Steps:

• Place filter in coffee basket, and fill with brown sugar, allspice, cloves, cinnamon stick, salt, nutmeg, and orange wedges. Pour apple cider into coffee pot where the water usually goes. Brew, and serve hot.

HOT SPIKED CIDER

Steps:

• Pour water into a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and toss in the orange spice tea bags. Cover and let steep 5 minutes. Remove tea bags and stir in sugar, apple cider, rum, and 2 of the cinnamon sticks. Heat just to steaming -- do not boil.
• Ladle hot cider into 6 mugs and drop 1/2 teaspoon butter into each. Garnish with a cinnamon "swizzle" stick.

HOT SPICED CIDER

Steps:

• In 3-quart saucepan, heat ingredients to boiling over medium-high heat. Reduce heat; simmer uncovered 10 minutes.
• Before serving, strain cider mixture to remove cloves and cinnamon, if desired. Serve hot.

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.

MULLED CIDER

Steps:

• Place all ingredients but the bourbon in a saucepan and heat over medium heat until the mixture is just below a boil. Cover, remove from the heat and let steep 5 minutes.
• At that point, you will notice that the allspice and cloves have floated to the top; remove and discard them. Pour a tablespoon of bourbon, if desired, into each of six mugs and pour the cider mixture over it. Spoon a few cinnamon pieces into each mug, and serve immediately.

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 CIDER TEA

Steps:

• Lightly crush the cinnamon, peppercorns, cloves, and cardamom pods in a mortar and pestle or on a cutting board with the bottom of a saucepan. Transfer to a medium saucepan, add the ginger, citrus peels. Put the crushed spices in a medium saucepan and add the water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer, partially covered, until aromatic, and the cinnamon stick opens a bit, about 10 minutes. Add the tea bags, immediately remove from the heat, and steep for 3 to 4 minutes.
• Remove the tea bags, and add the cider and juice of 1 orange. Return the pan to a medium heat and warm, taking care not to let the tea boil. Serve hot.

SPICED CIDER

Steps:

• In a large pot over medium heat, add the apple cider. Stir in the brown sugar, allspice and nutmeg until the sugar is dissolved and bring to a low boil.
• Stick the pointy ends of the cloves into the orange so that just the buds of the cloves are visible. The entire orange should be covered with the cloves.
• Add the orange to the cider and reduce the heat to simmer. Cover and continue cooking for 20 minutes.
• Serve in warm mugs with a cinnamon stick garnish. For adults, add bourbon to the cider.

HOT SPICED CIDER

Steps:

• Combine the cider, sugar and spices in a large saucepan.
• Heat slowly to boiling.
• Boil 3-5 minutes. remove spices.
• Serve hot garnished with orange slices, lemon slices, or rings of unpared red apple with whole cloves forced through peel.
• 16 servings.
• If desired, chill spiced cider and serve over ice cubes made from apple juice.