Spiced Cider Time

This month for the Featured Product on the website, I chose my Print Cookbooks which will soon be going digital, instead of my favorites for October – Spiced Cider Blends or Cinnful Dessert Blend. 

However, that did not stop me from thinking about what to do with these great blends, so I decided to send my musings out in a blog post.

Spiced Cider or Mulled Spice Blends

Spice Tea Latte

Do you enjoy Chai or spiced tea drinks in the fall?  Try this – Place about 1 Tbls. of Spiced Cider blend in a tea ball infuser and place it in 2 cups steamed milk for about 5 minutes. Add this spiced milk to cups of freshly brewed hot black or green tea for a quick chai-like seasonal flair.  To add decadence top with whipped cream and a drizzle of caramel sauce.

You can also make this for a group by placing a Mulled Cider Spice bag into 4 to 6 cups of milk and warm gently on the stove for 5 to 10 minutes.  Remove the bag and use the milk in coffee or tea.

Cinnful Dessert Blend

Grand Pumpkin Cookies

A Butter cookie is quick and easy to begin with.  Make it even more special with seasonal panache with Cinnful Dessert Blend.  Make a Cinnful  Spiced Sugar by combining ½ cup of confectioners’ sugar with 1 teaspoon of Cinnful Dessert Blend. Next, make your favorite butter cookie or sugar cookie recipe and lightly dust the top of the cookies with Cinnful Spiced Sugar before or after baking.

Butter Cookies

1/2 cup(s) butter

1 cup(s) sugar

1 egg(s)

1 1/2 cup(s) flour, all-purpose

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

In a medium bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add sugar; beat until combined. Add egg; beat until combined. Beat in flour, baking powder, and salt. Divide dough in half.  Shape each half of the dough into a 12-inch-long rope. Wrap and freeze about 4 hours or until firm.  Preheat oven to 325°F. Unwrap dough; carefully slice the frozen dough into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Place the slices, cut sides up, on an ungreased cookie sheet. Use your Cinnful Spiced Sugar sprinkle here.  Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Remove from cookie sheets; cool on a wire rack.

Pumpkin Pie French Toast or Pancakes

My husband is always looking to make breakfast a treat and when I showed him this idea we have been enjoying a bit of pumpkin-y goodness in the morning.  Stir ½ teaspoon of Cinnful Dessertblend into every 2 cups of French toast custard (egg-milk mixture) or 2 cups of pancake batter before cooking.  For great pumpkin taste add 2 Tbls of pumpkin puree to the batters as well. (You can also dust these with the Cinnful Spiced Sugar!)

Spiced Sweet Potatoes

Now candied Sweet Potatoes are a Thanksgiving staple, but this is faster and can make a perfect dinner addition.  Bake sweet potatoes until they’re nearly done; then slice halfway through each and add a sprinkling of Cinnful DessertBlend and a drizzle of honey or caramel sauce. Continue baking until the potatoes are done.

Winter Holiday Beverages - Weekend Recipes

I love the smell of Christmas! To me it smells like cinnamon, cloves, oranges, apple pie and evergreens! Two of my favorite things to make for the long winter months here are a mulling spice to be used in wine or cider and a simmer recipe ( I shared my simmer recipe earlier this week, check it out.)  I’ve shared items like this in the past, but I can create any number of combinations so these are just a bit different from those I have shared previously.

Mulling Spice

2 Tbls. Cinnamon chips

2 Tbls. Orange peel chunks

4 tsp.  whole allspice

4 tsp.  whole cloves

For mulled wine, use 2 T of the spices in a tea ball or muslin bag. Add to 1 ½ quarts Burgundy wine with 2/3 cup sugar or honey. Heat to almost boiling and simmer 20 minutes.

For mulled cider use 4 T in a tea ball or muslin bag and add to 2 quarts of cider. Simmer 15-20 minutes.

Cran-Apple Mulled Punch

This special recipe was shared with me by a customer.  She created it using the Backyard Patch Spiced Cider / Mulled Wine Blend, but you can use the blend I shared above.

12 cups apple juice

6 cups cranberry juice

½ cup brown sugar

2 Tablespoons butter

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3 Tablespoons Mulling Spices

Simmer on low heat for 30-45 minutes.  Serve warm. Serves 20 to 25 (6 oz. cups)

Hot Spiced Pineapple Juice

I think my internet friend Mary Ellen Wilcox said that she uses this recipe at her Christmas Workshop.  I loved it because it was pineapple which is such a great juice to use at a holiday gathering.  It could also be a favorite of mine because of the rum??!

1 (48 oz.) can pineapple  juice
1 cup apple cider or juice
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
1 cup light rum or 2 tsp. rum  extract
Whole cloves
Lemon slices
 

Insert the wholes cloves into lemon slices and set aside.  Combine pineapple juice, apple cider, sugar and spices in a large saucepan.  Simmer for 15 minutes.  Stir in rum or extract.  Serve in tall mugs with the lemon/clove slices as garnish.  Makes 9 (6 oz.) servings.