Tag: drinks

MULLED APPLE CIDER

Mulled Apple Cider is a perfect cold-weather treat! Made with cinnamon sticks, cloves, allspice, and fresh oranges, it will warm you from the inside out!

Everything about mulled apple cider makes it the perfect beverage for fall and winter, especially for the holidays. It’s typically served warm, flavored with warm spices, and can be made with or without alcohol, making it ideal for all your holiday parties or just sitting at home curled up in front of the fireplace. Not to mention how amazing your house will smell as the cider simmers on the stove and the scent of all the spices fill the air.

Apple Cider VS. Mulled Apple Cider

What is the difference between apple cider and mulled apple cider? Typically you drink apple cider cold with nothing added to it. You drink mulled apple cider warm or hot after it has been warmed with spices and possibly fruit. Many times alcohol is added to a mulled apple cider (more on that below).

Making Mulled Apple Cider

Mulled apple cider is incredibly easy to make, and you only need a few simple ingredients.

  • Apple cider
  • An orange, sliced
  • cinnamon sticks
  • whole cloves
  • Allspice berries
  • Star anise

Add everything to a pot on the stove and heat on medium-high until it is steaming and hot. Turn down the heat and simmer for 40 minutes. Remove the orange slices and strain off the spices. Pour into individual mugs and serve hot. That’s it! Be sure to breathe in the amazing aroma as you sip your hot mulled apple cider!

Adding Alcohol

I recommend spiking apple cider with whiskey, brandy, bourbon, or rum. Whiskey will give your spiked cider a spicier warm taste, while brandy, bourbon, and rum will give it a sweeter taste.

If you add the alcohol to the entire batch, first strain off the spices, remove the orange slices and then add the alcohol (8 to 10 ounces, depending on how strong you want it). Heat for another 10 to 15 minutes on low. Serve warm.

If you add the alcohol to individual glasses, use 1 ounce of alcohol for every 8 ounces of cider.

Mulled Apple Cider

Mulled Apple Cider is a perfect cold-weather treat! Made with cinnamon sticks, cloves, allspice, and fresh oranges, it will warm you from the inside out!
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Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 55 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Course Drinks
Servings 8 servings

Ingredients
 

  • 2 quarts (64 ounces) apple cider
  • 5 cinnamon sticks
  • 2 teaspoons whole cloves
  • 2 teaspoons whole allspice berries
  • 2 whole star anise
  • 1 orange, cut into slices

Optional Garnishes:

  • cinnamon sticks, star anise, sliced apples, cranberries

Instructions
 

  • Add the apple cider, cinnamon sticks, cloves, allspice berries, star anise, and sliced oranges to a large pot.
  • Heat over medium-high heat until hot and steaming (do not boil). Once it is hot, turn the heat to medium-low and simmer for 40 minutes.
  • When the cider is done, remove the orange slices and strain off the spices. If you want to keep it hot, leave it on the stove on low heat.
    **Do not leave the oranges in the pot after the cider is done. The oranges can take on a bitter flavor.
  • Optional garnishes: Pour cider into serving glasses and garnish with sliced apple, cinnamon stick, cranberries, and star anise.
  • Store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 7 days.

Adding Alcohol:

  • Use either whiskey, brandy, bourbon, or rum. Whiskey will give your spiked cider a spicier warm taste, while brandy, bourbon, and rum will give it a sweeter taste.
  • If you add the alcohol to the entire batch, first strain off the spices, remove the orange slices and then add the alcohol (8 to 10 ounces, depending on how strong you want it). Heat for another 10 to 15 minutes on low. Serve warm. 
    If you add the alcohol to individual glasses, use 1 ounce of alcohol for every 8 ounces of cider.

Notes

**If you plan on leaving the cider on the stove longer than an hour, remove the orange slices and spices. Oranges can take on a bitter flavor if heated for too long.
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STRAWBERRY LEMONADE

What’s more satisfying on a warm summer evening than an ice-cold glass of homemade strawberry lemonade? It’s a perfect combination of tart and sweet that’s as refreshing as it looks!

Lemonade is a perfect summery drink. Made right, it’s sweet, flavorful, and refreshing. With all the fresh, ripe berries and other fruits available in the summer months, don’t limit yourself to basic lemonade. Experiment with other fruits or a blend of different fruits!

This recipe starts with my basic recipe for Simply Perfect Lemonade. It’s easy to build upon something that is already amazing, all on its own! I’ve taken this lemonade to a whole new level by adding blended strawberries. But don’t let your imagination stop there…peach lemonade, kiwi lemonade, mango lemonade…the possibilities are endless! Leave me a comment below and let me know what you create!

The most important step (and really the only step) in creating great lemonade is making a simple syrup. Also referred to as “sugar syrup,” simple syrup is a liquefied form of sugar commonly used to sweeten cocktails, iced tea, iced coffee, lemonade, and other cold drinks. Because it is a liquid sweetener, it is much easier to blend into cold beverages than regular sugar. For example, if you simply stirred granulated sugar into cold water and lemon juice, the sugar would sink to the bottom. As a result, you would end up with the top half of your drink being pucker-producing tart and the bottom being over the top sweet.

How do you make simple syrup?

You gently heat 1 cup of water with 1 cup of sugar over medium-low heat until the sugar is completely dissolved. Stir the simple syrup occasionally to help with the dissolving. This should really only take a couple of minutes. You don’t want the syrup to boil. You will evaporate too much of your water, and you run the risk of burning the sugar. When the sugar is completely dissolved, remove it from the heat and cool for 10 minutes.

For the strawberries, slice about 2 cups of berries. Add strawberries and 1/4 cup water to a blender and puree strawberries until smooth. Add the simple syrup, lemon juice, and strawberry puree to a pitcher and stir. Add 4 to 5 cups of cold water to the pitcher and thoroughly chill in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 hours.

When deciding how much to dilute the lemonade, I suggest starting with 4 cups and then sampling it. If it’s too strong, gradually add more water until you get just the flavor you’re looking for. Keep in mind that if you are adding ice to your lemonade, it will further dilute the lemonade as the ice melts. My personal preference is to go with 4 cups of water. When serving the lemonade, I load the glasses with ice to get super refreshing, ice-cold lemonade. Garnish with sliced lemons and strawberries, and ENJOY!

Check out my other lemonade recipes to quench your summer thirst:

Simply Perfect Lemonade

Sparkling Lemonade

Lilikoi Lemonade

Strawberry Lemonade

What's more satisfying on a warm summer evening than an ice-cold glass of homemade strawberry lemonade? It's a perfect combination of tart and sweet that's as refreshing as it looks!
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Course Drinks
Servings 8 servings

Ingredients
 

  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 cup fresh lemon juice
  • 4-5 cups water, to dilute (this will vary depending on your taste)
  • 1 pint strawberries, sliced, (2 cups), (see notes)
  • ¼ cup water, to blend with strawberries
  • garnish with sliced strawberries and lemon wedge, optional

Instructions
 

  • Add the 1 cup sugar and 1 cup water to a small saucepan. Heat over medium-low heat until sugar is completely dissolved, stir occasionally. Remove from heat.
  • Juice enough lemons for 1 cup of juice. Typically this would be 4 to 6 lemons.
  • Add the lemon juice and sugar mixture to a pitcher. Add 4-5 cups of water to the pitcher and stir well. **See notes
  • Add sliced strawberries and 1/4 cup water to a blender and process until smooth. Stir into lemonade.
  • Refrigerate the strawberry lemonade for 2-3 hours to completely chill.
  • To serve, add plenty of ice to the glasses, fill and garnish with sliced strawberries and lemon. (optional).

Notes

When deciding how much to dilute the lemonade, I suggest starting with 4 cups and then sampling it. If it's too strong, gradually add more water until you get just the flavor you're looking for. Keep in mind that if you are adding ice to your lemonade, it will further dilute the lemonade as the ice melts. 
If you have questions on how many strawberries to use, basically 1 pint is about 2 cups sliced or quartered. You can find more helpful information here.
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SIMPLY PERFECT LEMONADE

Great lemonade is like sunshine in your glass! This lemonade is simple, sweet, refreshing, and bursting with flavor. Your taste buds will sing with just the first sip! Perfect for all of your backyard barbecues…Actually, it’s great anytime!

Great lemonade just shouts, “summer is here”! And the good news, great lemonade is not hard to make. And, of course, the star of any lemonade is the bright, sunny lemons. We have a dwarf Meyer lemon tree growing in our backyard. And most years, during the summer, it is heavy with the juiciest lemons we’ve ever seen! The amount of juice we get from one lemon is more than you’ll get from two or three store-bought lemons. We use what we can of the fresh lemons, but the tree produces more than we can reasonably use, so I juice the lemons and freeze the juice in a half-cup container. That makes it incredibly easy to pull out the exact amount of juice I need for a recipe. I don’t mind making lemonade with our frozen lemon juice, but nothing beats juicing fresh lemons!

To make this amazing lemonade, you just need three basic ingredients; lemon juice, sugar, and water. That’s it! Give up 10 minutes of your time, and you are done!

The most important step (and really the only step) in creating great lemonade is making a simple syrup. Also referred to as “sugar syrup,” simple syrup is a liquefied form of sugar commonly used to sweeten cocktails, iced tea, iced coffee, lemonade, and other cold drinks. Because it is a liquid sweetener, it is much easier to blend into cold beverages than regular granulated sugar. If you simply stirred sugar into cold water and lemon juice, the sugar would sink to the bottom. You would end up with the top half of your drink being pucker-producing tart and the bottom being over-the-top sweet.

HOW TO MAKE SIMPLE SYRUP:

You gently heat 1 cup of water with 1 cup of sugar over medium-low heat until the sugar is completely dissolved. Stir the simple syrup occasionally to help with the dissolving. This should really only take a couple of minutes. You don’t want the syrup to boil, or you will evaporate too much of your water, and you also run the risk of burning the sugar. When the sugar is completely dissolved, remove it from the heat and cool for 10 minutes.

Pour the simple syrup and 1 cup of lemon juice into a pitcher. You’ll want to dilute the mixture with cold water, then allow your lemonade to chill in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 hours. When deciding how much to dilute the lemonade, I suggest starting with 4 cups and then sampling it. If it’s too strong, gradually add more water until you get just the flavor you’re looking for. Keep in mind that if you are adding ice to your lemonade, it will further dilute the lemonade as the ice melts. My personal preference is to go with 4 cups of water. When serving the lemonade, I load the glasses with ice to get super refreshing, ice-cold lemonade.

Check out my other lemonade recipes to quench your summer thirst:

Sparkling Lemonade

Strawberry Lemonade

Lilikoi Lemonade

Simply Perfect Lemonade

Great lemonade is like sunshine in your glass! This lemonade is simple, sweet, refreshing, and bursting with flavor. Your taste buds will sing with just the first sip! Perfect for all of your backyard barbecues…Actually, it's great anytime!
5 from 1 vote
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes
Course Drinks
Servings 8 servings

Ingredients
 

  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 cup fresh lemon juice
  • 4-5 cups water, to dilute (Depending on your preference)

Instructions
 

  • Add 1 cup sugar and 1 cup water to a small saucepan. Heat over medium-low heat until sugar is completely dissolved, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Let cool for 10 minutes.
  • Juice enough lemons for 1 cup of juice. Typically this would be 4 to 6 lemons.
  • Add the lemon juice and simple syrup to a pitcher. Add 4-5 cups of water to the pitcher and stir well. **See notes
  • Refrigerate the lemonade for 3-4 hours to completely chill.
  • To serve, add plenty of ice to the glasses, fill and garnish with lemon (optional).

Notes

When deciding how much to dilute the lemonade, I suggest starting with 4 cups and then sampling it. If it’s too strong, gradually add more water until you get just the flavor you’re looking for. Keep in mind, that if you are adding ice to your lemonade, it will further dilute the lemonade as the ice melts. 
 
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