Cider Beetles

photo by MommyMakes



- Ready In:
- 32mins
- Ingredients:
- 6
- Yields:
-
12 beetles
ingredients
- 6 oranges
- 2 1⁄4 cups firmly packed brown sugar
- 12 (1 1/2 inch) cinnamon sticks
- 12 small whole whole nutmegs
- 24 large whole allspice
- 96 whole cloves
directions
-
Adult Portion:
- Slices oranges in half and scoop out pulp without breaking the orange rind. Reserve pulp for another use or discard.
- Place orange halves cut side up (like a bowl) on a wire rack on a baking sheet. Bake at 250F for 2 hours until dry and hard. Let Cool.
-
Kid Portion:
- Pack brown sugar firmly into each orange half, mounding slightly.
- Arrange spices in the brown sugar to resemble beetles: use a cinnamon stick as the body, a nutmeg as the head, 2 allspice for the eyes (on each side of the head), and 6-8 cloves for the legs/feet.
- Cover tightly with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator (I keep mine sealed in plastic and in the cupboard).
-
Directions for use:
- Unwrap the beetle and drop into 1 1/2 quarts apple juice or cider. Simmer 30 minutes. Strain whole spices and orange rind from cider to serve. May add 1/2 cup of Brandy, and heat well. Store leftover cider in the refrigerator.
Questions & Replies

Reviews
-
I made one to try before making a bunch for Christmas baskets. Everyone in my house gave it 4 stars, so needless to say it's a keeper and I'll be making them for baskets. We tried it with the cider, next we want to try it with juice to see what the taste difference is. Thanks for a great recipe MommyMakes! :o)
see 3 more reviews