Recipe of the Week! Mulled Cranberry-Apple Cider

There is NOTHING I love more on a cool evening than a warm apple cider. It smells heavenly and warms you when you're chilled. This is an easy recipe that will make your house smell wonderful. You could also substitute your favorite red wine for the juices to make an adult version if you're having company... A variation of that recipe can be found at the bottom... It's slightly different because you don't want to boil the wine...

Ingredients

• 4 cups cranberry juice cocktail
• 4 cups apple cider or apple juice
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 5 (3 x 1-inch) strips orange rind
• 8 whole cloves
• 4 whole allspice
• 2 (3-inch) cinnamon sticks, halved
• 1 whole nutmeg

Preparation

Combine all ingredients in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 30 minutes. Strain the mixture through a fine sieve, and discard solids. Serve cider warm.

Mulled Wine :

Ingredients

• 1 navel orange
• 4 cups apple juice
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 2-inch piece fresh ginger, thinly sliced
• 6 whole allspice berries
• 10 cinnamon sticks
• 1 bottle dry red wine

Preparation

Using a vegetable peeler, peel the zest from the orange in long strips. (Reserve the fruit for another use.)

In a large saucepan, gently simmer the zest, apple juice, honey, ginger, allspice, and 2 cinnamon sticks for 20 minutes. Stir in the wine and cook just until heated through. Serve hot with the remaining cinnamon sticks.