Apple Cider Stop

I have been up to my ears in Holiday Shows, Church Bazaars and now this weekend it was an  Art Walk. First let me say I had a really great time, we were stationed outside of the Art Center and we met a ton of very nice people, got lots of compliments and had a great many laughs.

But the lead up to this is where my challenge started. We had attended a Festival in the same town earlier in September and they had asked if we would like to have a "Cider Stop" at their Holiday Art Walk in December. I checked our calendar and amazingly enough I was free, so I agreed. Fast forward to the last week in November and I'm stressing about having a perfect cider. I mean if I want you to buy my Jams and Spreads I should be able to impress you with my "free cider"..right?

So I do what everyone else does and I click over to Pintrest.. I can say I found a few recipes, but nothing really seemed like what I wanted, along with a another half dozen pins that  had nothing to do with what I was looking for nor will I ever get a chance to accomplish a third of them. So then I do what I should have done to begin with, I called my mom. I mean after all she makes a mean cider. I mean seriously, It's my favorite holiday smell, some people love trees and greens, or pumpkin pies, not me it's apple cider all the way. 

It's so awesome I'll share it with you. My mom does her's on the stove and lets it simmer all day, hence the holiday love of that scent. I was going to be a bit more mobile so I did mine in a crock pot.

I used our small version, I'm fairly sure it's the 3qt version. 

I took about 1/2 gallon of White House Apple Cider but really any would do.

Added a sliced clementine, two sticks of Cinnamon and in that strange looking contraption at the top I added  four whole cloves and a couple whole allspice.  You could use cheesecloth or a tea strainer, just because it's best to take them out if the mixture will boil or be on the heat for an extended amount of time since the spices can be overwhelming. 

After the cider was hot I transferred about 2/3 to a thermos and refilled the crockpot, leaving the oranges and the spices to mull another batch. 

If you are interested in the spice holder that we use, it's actually a Fresh Food Feeder, found in the baby department. We use it quite a bit in our canning. it's easy to clean and best of all it's reusable.

The Cider was a huge success, there were lots of guesses as to what went into it and I heard later that customers commented on it all around the area. The sale went well too, could I attribute that to the holiday atmosphere or the awesome cider. Try it yourself and let me know what you think...

Here's hoping that your holiday is filled with laughter and lots of great holiday smells..