Christmas Mulled Cider!

The power of traditions and the memories they invoke is truly a wonder to behold.

One of the first traditions I tried to implement in our Christmas feasts was Mulled Cider on Christmas Eve for our Midnight feast.
Now while I quite liked it the children and our guests really really loved my Egg Nogg, which was the other beverage I made for the Feast.
In fact you could say they loved the Egg Nogg, especially as there was none left over but still lots of the Mulled Cider left.
I persisted with this for a couple more years until I realised our children, who were clearly much younger definitely preferred the milky Egg Nogg to the Mulled Cider.

So as the point of the Feast was to enjoy this tradition I eliminated it from our festivities.
However I have always loved the idea and recently I have reintroduced it into our Advent Season again.

On the first Sunday in Advent we now have this drink along with some special bought (shock horror) Christmas Cookies after we finish putting up the Christmas Tree and at least some of our home decorating.

So here is the recipe we use for Mulled Cider that we enjoy.

Mulled Cider Recipe-

In a saucepan place:

*1 liter of Orange juice (for a more expensive version, or for those who don’t like the more intense orange flavour use another 1 liter of Apple Cider and add an extra optional peel of an orange)

*2 1/2 liters of Apple Cider

*Next add spices. These can be added to a muslin bag or place directly in the liquid.

However if you place directly in you will need to strain the cider before serving J

*The spices we use are

4 sticks of cinnamon broken up

3 nutmegs crushed coarsely

1 tsp allspice crushed

1 tsp of cloves crushed

You could add 1 tsp of cardamom pods too

*In the pan bring to almost a boil. Reduce the heat to its lowest setting and simmer for 30 minutes

*Then serve into tea cups for a festive and elegant setting. For extra pizzazz add a cinnamon stick to the cup as you serve.

Blessings to you and your homes,