Cider Six Twisted Ways

Total Time: 40 mins Preparation Time: 10 mins Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients

• 2 quarts apple cider
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 15 whole cloves
• 10 whole allspice
• 2 (3 inch) cinnamon sticks
• 3 (2 inch) lemon peel strips or 3 (2 inch) orange strips
• 8 tablespoons low-fat vanilla ice cream
• 3 (5 inch) fresh rosemary sprigs
• 1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
• 2 cups pomegranate juice
• 2 cups unsweetened cranberry juice or 1/2 cup cranberries

Recipe

recipe

• 1 main directions: place whole cider spices in a zip-top plastic bag and give them a firm whack with a rolling pin, mallet or skillet to crush them. combine cider and sugar in a large saucepan, stirring until sugar dissolves. add crushed spices from plastic bag and bring to a boil. reduce heat to medium and simmer 15 minutes. strain through sieve, discard solids and serve warm. to keep warm for awhile, transfer to a warm crockpot.
• 2 citrusy spiced: use a vegetable peeler to shave sections of rind from lemon or orange (leaving the pith behind), and add them to the cider while it simmers.
• 3 apple cider nog: after pouring cider into individual cups, top each with a tablespoon of low-fat vanilla ice cream and serve immediately.
• 4 rosemary: stir in the sprigs of fresh rosemary before the cider begins to boil.
• 5 pomegranate-vanilla: add vanilla bean before cider begins to boil. add pomegranate juice at beginning of simmer.
• 6 cranberry-apple: add cranberry juice or fresh cranberries at beginning of simmer.
• 7 remember to strain after adding additional ingredients per main recipe.