Hot Apple Cider Recipe

Next to pumpkin pie, cozy sweater weather, and halloween costumes, hot apple cider is one of the best parts of celebrating the arrival of the autumn season. And if its homemade, even better. Before any intimidation sets in, know that making apple cider from scratch is incredibly easyall it takes is about 20 minutes of hands-on prep, plus fresh apples, one orange, brown sugar, and warming spices. Those same seasonings will impart your kitchen (and entire house) with the scent of all your favorite fall flavors as it simmersthink sweet cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves. Making apple cider is also the perfect why to put all those apples you brought home from the orchard to use. We recommend a combination of sweet apples (like fuji, honeycrisp, gala, and cortland) and tart apples (like granny smith or jonathan). To make it boozy, add an ounce of brandy to each mug before serving.