Cider Six Twisted Ways

This is like six cider recipes in one.

• Ready In: 40 mins
• Yields: 8 1-cup servings

Ingredients

• Basic Spiced Apple Cider

• 2  quarts apple cider
• 1⁄4 cup brown sugar
• 15  whole cloves
• 10  whole allspice
• 2 (3 inch)  cinnamon sticks

• Citrusy Spiced

• 3 (2 inch)  lemon peel strips or 3 (2 inch)  orange strips

• Apple Cider Nog

• 8  tablespoons low-fat vanilla ice cream

• Rosemary

• 3 (5 inch)  fresh rosemary sprigs

• Pomegranate-Vanilla

• 1⁄2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
• 2  cups pomegranate juice

• Cranberry-Apple

• 2  cups  unsweetened cranberry juice or 1⁄2 cup cranberries

Directions

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 white 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.