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Warm Drinks

Cauldron Mulled Cider

The house drink of every harvest night — cider simmered slow with whole spices until the whole kitchen smells like October.

Cauldron Mulled Cider — Halloween recipe
Prep time
40 min
Serves
8
Difficulty
Easy
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This is the drink that makes the house smell like October. Set it on the back burner before the first knock at the door and it will perfume every room until the last trick-or-treater has gone home.

Ingredients

  • 2 quarts fresh apple cider
  • 1 orange, sliced into rounds
  • 4 cinnamon sticks
  • 6 whole cloves
  • 3 star anise pods
  • 1 thumb fresh ginger, sliced
  • 2 tablespoons maple syrup or brown sugar (optional)

Instructions

  1. Pour the cider into a heavy pot or slow cooker.
  2. Add the orange rounds, cinnamon, cloves, star anise, and ginger.
  3. Bring just to a simmer — never a boil — then lower the heat and hold it there for 30 minutes.
  4. Taste and sweeten with maple syrup only if the cider needs it.
  5. Strain into mugs and drop a fresh cinnamon stick in each as a stirrer.

Why it works & making it ahead

Never let it boil — hard heat turns the cloves harsh and cooks the apple flavour out. Whole spices only; ground spice makes it cloudy and gritty. It holds beautifully in a slow cooker on low for hours, which is exactly what you want on a night of doorbells.

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For grown-ups: add 1.5 oz dark rum or bourbon per mug after straining, off the heat.

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