If you’re anything like me, I hate people crowding in my kitchen when I’m trying to cook – especially for a large crowd or holiday meal! If you cook a lot, you know exactly where everything is in the kitchen and how to move around quickly and effectively. So when someone comes in and asks to help, it’s a nice gesture but ultimately I know I can do things quicker and easier if they would just get out! haha
That’s why I’ve learned over the years to serve a mini “happy hour” during Thanksgiving or Christmas meals. It keeps everyone from getting hangry and bored and coming in the kitchen to “ask for help”, when really they just want to know what’s taking so long. When I host a meal for my family it’s easily 20-25 people in my house at one time so I have to keep them busy!
Every year I serve this mulled apple cider along with a few light bites for people to snack on. This cider warms up in the crockpot so you can make it hours in advance and requires very little effort. This year, I’ve decided to spike mine with a little Vodka from my friends over at Covington Spirits. They are a NC sweet potato farm that has made vodka out of NC grown sweet potatoes. It has a really smooth taste and blends well with the cider.
If you’re not the drinking type, you can totally leave the apple cider alone. I actually don’t add the liquor until I serve the cider inside someone’s cup. The cider is delicious on it’s own and it’s great for the holidays because it’s served hot and has all kinds of fall and winter flavors in it.
I start off by pouring a half gallon of apple cider into my crockpot then mixing in some brown sugar. Turn it on low and prepare the spice sack. I wrap whole cloves, cinnamon sticks, whole allspice berries, and a few dashes of nutmeg in a coffee filter or cheesecloth and tie it with butcher’s twine. Cheesecloth is easier to tie up, but a coffee filter was what I had on hand already!
I add that to the crockpot then half an orange and lay one half cut side down into the crockpot.
Now you can walk away and get back to cooking! Set this baby on low for at least 3 hours and all those spices are going to mingle with the cider and turn out delicious!
When you get ready to serve the cider, if you’d like to spike it, I just pour 1.5 ounces of vodka in the bottom of a cup, then pour the hot cider over it and serve. No mixing or shaking involved! If you’re not a vodka fan I think spiced rum would also be great in this.
Hope ya’ll enjoy this recipe as much as I do! Pro tip: Save the half gallon jug of cider and if you have any leftovers, pour it right back in the jug and store it in your fridge! Then you can just microwave it next time you’d like a cup.
Spiked & Mulled Apple Cider
Ingredients
- 1 half gallon apple cider
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp whole allspice berries
- 1 1/2 tsp whole cloves
- 2 sticks cinnamon
- 2 dashes ground nutmeg
- 1/2 orange
- 12 oz Covington Vodka
Instructions
- Pour cider into the crockpot. Stir in brown sugar.
- In a coffee filter or cheesecloth, place the allspice, cloves, cinnamon sticks, and nutmeg inside. Carefully fold up the coffee filter, making sure none of the spices can fall out and tie it with butcher's twine. Place into the cider along with half an orange, sliced side down.
- Cook on low for 3 hours. When you're ready to serve, pour 1.5 ounces of vodka into the bottom of a cup, then pour 1 cup of cider over it. Serve hot. If you'd like to spike the whole batch, just add all the alcohol directly to the crockpot once it's done cooking.
