Long before the words ‘craft cider’ become trendy, the word cider conjured up the memory of cheap brown 2 litre plastic bottles and teenage hangovers. Ireland however has come on leaps and bounds and embraced the humble apple for all it is worth. Craft cider is now a big market and I’ll be the first to admit, I’m quite a fan of it. With that in mind I’ve put together some spiced apple warmers.
Now we all know perfectly well that certain things are just meant to go together. Cagney and Lacey, Dempsey and Makepeace, Bert and Ernie or Joan Rivers and jokes that are going to offend a whole lot of people. In the world of food and drink (another great pairing) two things which are a match made in heaven are apples and cinnamon. Not only that but they absolutely scream Happy Christmas at the same time. Now turn that apple into cider, heat it and add a cinnamon stick and you have a festive favourite sure to get you into the swing of things. So with that in mind here’s a delicious and simple recipe for spiced apple warmers. (it sounds so much fancier than warm cider with a dash of cinnamon).
Spiced Apple Warmers
Ingredients
(Recipe makes 2 drinks)
- 500 ml Cider – you can choose your preferred. I went with Mac Ivors Medium Dry.
- ½ teaspoon of ground cinnamon
- 2 cloves
- ½ an orange sliced
- Pinch of nutmeg
- Cinnamon sticks
Instructions
- Heat the cider, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and orange slices in a saucepan. Cook over a low heat for 5-10 minutes until the mixture is hot.
- Strain the mixture into a glass jug or straight to glasses and garnish with cinnamon sticks.
- As an added indulgence you can add some whipped cream on top.
All that’s left to do now is sit back relax and stick on It’s A Wonderful Life!