Although Kristi is from Texas, I am from Washington state and in case you didn’t know, apples are kind of a big deal here. Making apple concoctions is also something I really enjoy in the fall. One of my favorite things to make is homemade, hot and spicy apple cider.

How to Make Your Own Apple Cider

Making apple cider is fairly simple and you can even do it with just a plain apple juice at home if you don’t have time to pulverize your own apples. Here, apples are really cheap this time of year, but in other parts of the country, they may not be, so here is how to make your own apple cider from plain apple juice.

Apple Cider Recipe

Ingredients

1 gallon of 100% Apple Juice
10 Cinnamon Sticks
8 Whole Cloves
2 Oranges
1/2 tbsp Ground Nutmeg
Ground Cinnamon
Whipped Cream

Instructions

First, start with as close to 100% juice as you can. Apple juice cocktails or from concentrate apple juice will not taste nearly as good.
Next, start by heating up 1 gallon of the juice in a pot on the stove. You want to get it to a nice simmer, but not boiling.
With the Oranges, zest them both and then open them up and take out the sections. Make sure there are no seeds in them. Drop the zest and the sections into your hot apple juice.
Add the cinnamon sticks, nutmeg, and cloves.
Allow the mixture to simmer for about 10-15 minutes.
Strain it through a fine mesh sieve. Allow to cool for 5 minutes.
Top with whipped topping and sprinkle on some cinnamon.

You can store this apple cider recipe for about 3-4 days in the fridge and reheat as desired on the stovetop or even in the microwave for a minute or two.

For something extra fun, hollow out an apple and serve from them as cups. Apple Cider also tastes excellent with a little swirl of caramel syrup in it!

How to Make Your Own Apple Cider