Hot Apple Orange Cider

Name: Hot Apple Orange Cider
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 120 min
Total time: 125 min
Yield: 1 serving
Ingredients: 2/3 cup 100% Apple Juice; 1/3 cup Water; 1/6, cut in half Oranges (Navel, Raw); 1 Whole cloves; a pinch Allspice berries; 1/2 Cinnamon stick

Apple juice simmered with orange, clove and cinnamon for a warm holiday mug at 91 calories.

91kcal per serving

0.4gprotein

21.5gcarbs

0.5gfat

10 mgsodium

Sodium is calculated without salt added to taste.

Estimated; may vary.

Prep5 min

Cook120 min

Total125 min

Makes1 serving

DifficultyMedium

Hot apple orange cider is a pot of apple juice, water and halved oranges simmered with clove, allspice and cinnamon until the kitchen smells like December. A mug comes to about 91 calories and 21.5 g of carbohydrate, all of it from the fruit juice, with no added sugar anywhere in the pot.

The two-hour simmer is the whole recipe. Whole spices release their oils slowly, so a quick ten-minute heat gives you warm juice and nothing more. Keep the pot uncovered at a bare simmer, let the volume drop a little, and the clove and cinnamon come forward without turning bitter.

Make it the morning of the party and hold it in a slow cooker on low, where it keeps for hours and doubles as the room scent. The batch of twelve cups scales straight up. Strain the spices before guests arrive so nobody bites a clove.

Ingredients

Servings

Apple Juice2/3 cup 100% (165 g)
Water1/3 cup (79 g)
Oranges (Navel, Raw)1/6, cut in half (23 g)
Whole cloves1
Allspice berriesa pinch
Cinnamon stick1/2

Cook’s tips

Use whole spices, not ground. Ground cloves and cinnamon leave the cider cloudy and gritty at the bottom of the mug.
Squeeze the orange halves against the side of the pot before you strain them out for a stronger citrus edge.
Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours, keep up to 4 days, and reheat to steaming rather than boiling.
Contains: none of the nine major food allergens.
Naturally gluten-free and dairy-free as written. Swap two of the eight cups of apple juice for unsweetened cranberry juice for a sharper, redder cup.

Method

Wash your hands and all surfaces before you start.
Cut the orange in half and put it in a large pot with the apple juice and water.
Add the whole cloves, allspice berries and cinnamon stick.
Bring to a boil over high heat, then drop the heat to a bare simmer.
Simmer uncovered for 2 hours, stirring once or twice.
Strain out the spices and orange halves and pour the cider hot into mugs.
Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours and reheat gently to steaming.

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