December 8, 2009

Holiday Cheer - Hot Apple Cider & Hot Cocoa

Well, we've had a week of goodies, so here's a couple of beverage recipes to go with them, Hot Apple Cider, curtesy of Leah Smith of A Cowboy's Dream and Hot Chocolate from Christina Scott of The Priceless Gift. ENJOY!

Leah's Hot Apple Cider

Ingredients

6 cups apple cider
¼ cup real maple syrup
2 cinnamon sticks
6 whole cloves
6 whole allspice berries
1 orange peel, cut into strips
1 lemon peel, cut into strips

Directions


Pour the apple cider and maple syrup into a large stainless steel saucepan. Place the cinnamon sticks, cloves, allspice berries, orange peel and lemon peel in a washed square of cheesecloth and fold up the sides to enclose the spices. Tie with a length of string. Drop the spice bundle into the cider mixture. Heat over moderate heat for 5 to 10 minutes, until hot, but not boiling. Remove the cider from the heat and discard the spice bundle. Ladle cider into mugs and add a cinnamon stick to each if desired.

Christina's Hot Chocolate

Ingredients

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2/4 cup white sugar
1 pinch salt
1/3 cup boiling water
3 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup half-and-half
3/4 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

Combine the cocoa, sugar and pinch of salt in a saucepan. Blend in the boiling water. Bring to an easy boil while stirring. Continue to stir as mixture simmers for 2 mins. Watch that it doesn't scorch. Stir in milk and heat until very hot, but do not boil. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Divide between 4 mugs and add half-and-half to cool to drinking temperature.

This week's prize will is Warm Vanilla Sugar lotion and shower gel from Bath and Body Works. So be sure and leave a comment! I'll draw on Monday night, Dec. 14th.

Cate Masters won the $10 The Wild Rose Press gift certificate.

Tomorrow's recipe: Pumpkin Bread

Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen. ~Author unknown, attributed to a 7-year-old named Bobby

7 comments:

Unknown said...

Congrats Cate! Recipes sound good!

Karen H said...

Congratulations to Cate!

Nothing better than Hot Apple Cider on a cold winter's night. But it's even better if a shot of rum somehow found its way into the glass!

Judy said...

Both of the recipes look delicious. I make a apple cider very much like that. I love it on a cold day while curled up with a good book!!

LuAnn said...

I just love both hot apple cider and hot cocoa! That ... and a nice cup of hot tea. I'm not a coffee drinker, so these recipes will definitely be used in our house!

Estella said...

Hot chocolate sounds wonderful.

Cate Masters said...

Thanks so much, Anna! Can't wait to go shopping. Happy holidays!

Anonymous said...

My friend and I were recently discussing about how we as a society are so hooked onto electronics. Reading this post makes me think back to that debate we had, and just how inseparable from electronics we have all become.


I don't mean this in a bad way, of course! Societal concerns aside... I just hope that as technology further develops, the possibility of transferring our brains onto a digital medium becomes a true reality. It's one of the things I really wish I could experience in my lifetime.


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