By Olivia Williams
Every Fall, the leaves get crispy and dry, and everything feels quite dull and like its lacking humidity. Instead of being sad about it, I like to make some Mulled Cider and start up some simmer pots to keep the house smelling amazing and have a warm, filling drink. I curl up with my cats and sit on the couch to read, letting the pots bubble on low for a few hours, making my house smell amazing and feel so much warmer and cozier.
I have a recipe below for my favorite Mulled Cider, but if you’d like to make a simmer pot, do everything but the apple juice and sweetener! I personally love to add orange slices as well as the rind and zest and 8 cups of water instead, to make it a big pot of tea that acts as a perfect home air freshener. When simmering, make sure to have at least a quart of liquid and to not leave the stove unattended, especially without checking for a few hours as the water can boil out and burn the spices to the bottom of the pot (ask me how I learned that one lol).
Ingredients:
1 whole nutmeg
10 allspice berries
10 cloves or ½ -1 tsp ground cloves
2 star anise
4 cinnamon sticks
6 cups Apple juice or apple cider*
1 orange peel
1 lemon, zested and juiced
¼-½ cup maple syrup or sugar, for added sweetness (if desired)
Optional: whole cranberries and apple slices, for garnish and water (to taste) to make it last a little longer and to help really steep the spices before you add the apple juice if you’d like
* You can also do 2-3 frozen cans of apple juice concentrate, thawed/partially thawed
Cooking instructions:
In a medium saucepan, place the cinnamon sticks, cloves, star anise, allspice berries, nutmeg, orange peel, and lemon peel. Toast on medium heat until fragrant, 30 seconds to a minute.
Pour in the desired sweetener and apple juice, then bring to almost a boil.
Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes.
Remove from the heat and serve in mugs with apple slices and cranberries, if desired.
