Homemade apple cider is made from fresh apples, is full of warm spices, has a hint of citrus and is the right amount of sweet.
Autumn Apples
Apple cider is one of our favorite Autumn drinks and great for holiday parties or all for yourself when you want to cozy up to the fireplace. It is enjoyable both hot or cold.
This is a simple recipe and we just throw all the ingredients into a slow cooker.
What you will need:
- Slow cooker
- Masher (Potato)
- China cap, Strainer or Colander
- Fine mesh sieve or cheesecloth
- 3.5 lbs. or 6-7 apples (we use a variety)
- 1 orange, cut into quarters
- 4 cinnamon sticks (we use Mexican cinnamon sticks which are much larger)
- 2 whole star anise
- 1 whole nutmeg cut into quarters
- 10 whole allspice
- 4 whole cloves
- ¼-1/2 cup Swerve Brown
How to make Homemade Apple Cider
We used a combination of apples, granny smiths, gala, pink ladies. You can use whatever you like. We recommend using a variety of little sweet and a little tart. We also don’t peel the apples before hand but if you want a cider that is a tad less bitter, go ahead and put the work in.
Cut the apples into quarters and core them. Toss them into the slow cooker. Cut and quarter the orange and add to the apples. Add the spices and cover the fruit with water.
Cook on medium-low heat for about 4 hours then take a masher and mash the fruit well. Strain the liquid from the fruit and spices. Discard the fruit and spices and return the liquid to the slow cooker and add the sweetener.
Cook the liquid for an additional hour then remove and strain through a fine mesh sieve or through cheesecloth.
Garnish with a cinnamon stick and orange slices. Will keep in the refrigerator for 10-14 days.
If you like your cider spiked, add one cup of rum, bourbon or vodka to the entire batch the last 15 minutes of cooking.
Have you made this RECIPE? Please leave a comment below and let me know what you think.
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Looking for more great recipes? Check out homemade egg nog and homemade cinnamon rolls.
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Cinnamon Rolls
Homemade Apple Cider
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 hours
- Total Time: 5 hours 15 minutes
- Yield: 7 cups 1x
- Category: Drinks
- Method: Slow Cooker
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
Homemade apple cider is made from fresh apples, is full of warm spices and a hint of citrus.
Ingredients
3.5 lbs. or 6-7 apples (we use a variety) Cored and cut into quarters
1 orange, cut into quarters
4 cinnamon sticks (we use Mexican cinnamon sticks which are much larger)
2 whole star anise
1 whole nutmeg cut into quarters
10 whole allspice
4 whole cloves
¼–1/2 cup Swerve Brown
8 cups water
Instructions
Cut the apples into quarters and core them. Toss them into the slow cooker.
Cut and quarter the orange and add to the apples. Add the spices and add enough water to cover the fruit.
Cook on medium-low heat for about 4 hours then take a masher and mash the fruit well.
Strain the liquid from the fruit and spices. Discard the fruit and spices and return the liquid to the slow cooker and add the sweetener.
Cook the liquid for an additional hour then remove and strain through a fine mesh sieve or through cheesecloth.
Garnish with a cinnamon stick and orange slices.
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