We all have Pinterest boards that we constantly pin new ideas and recipes to. I am going to give one of those recipes a shot and blog about it. I will do all of the cooking so you don’t have to, and let you know how it goes!
I made a few tweaks and suggestions, so here we go!
First you need to gather all of your ingredients…
(not pictured: brown sugar)
The original recipe that I wanted to try out called for Apple Juice, however I used Apple Cider because in a recipe like this using a less filtered juice would add more flavoring.
This is a is slow cooker recipe, you won’t need a large crock pot either. I used a medium one because lets be honest, the amount of food that would fill a large crock pot would be way too much since I live by myself.
I started off by adding brown sugar, then pouring in the apple cider. Up next, add in vanilla extract, lemon extract, orange extract, and all spices.
Now stir all of your ingredients and set your slow cooker on low. You can sit and watch it simmer or like me, you are a busy person you and run errands during this time. I came home 2 hours later to my apartment smelling like citrus and spices, which just happens to be my favorite fall and winter scents, so I was thrilled! (Note: the longer you let the spices simmer in the cider the more intense the spices and the cinnamon will taste.)
Next, add the garnishes!
I used a mandolin to slice the fruit easily and quickly! I was originally using a knife to slice the fruit but then realized there was an easier way to do this, it made such a difference. These are fairly affordable, I stumbled across particular one at Walmart and it works great! I use mine for a multitude of dishes and slicing fruits and vegetables.
Now you’re ready to serve! (This is can be very sticky so be careful when ladling to serve and don’t spill it like I did. Oops!)
If you would like to make this an adult beverage I would recommend adding Crown Royal Apple Whiskey, I was experiments and it ended up being delicious. I’m not a huge fan of whiskey, but you couldn’t taste the signature whiskey taste.
I left the recipe for you below… Let me know in the comments if you tried this out, and how it turned out!
Recipe
What you will need:
- 8 Cups of Apple Cider
- 1/4 cup Brown Sugar
- 1 tsp of Pure Orange Extract
- 1/2 tsp of Pure Lemon Extract
- 1/4 tsp of Pure Vanilla Extract
- 4 Cinnamon Sticks
- 1/2 tsp Whole Allspice
Garnishes:
- More Cinnamon Sticks!
- Slices of Apple, Lemon, and Orange
Optional: Crown Royal Apple Whiskey
Instructions:
- Mix all ingredients into crock pot and put on low heat for 2 hours. (The longer you cook the spices in the mix the more potent the spices will be.)
- 2 hours later… add garnishes and serve!
