Fall & Winter Drinks

On a cold day nothing is as welcomed as a comforting warm drink. Generally hot cocoa on a snowy day comes to mind. Sometimes coffee or tea... and when fall comes we start thinking of ciders.

With the wind starting to chill and the holidays approaching, I started to think of warm drinks. Ones I could easily make in the crock-pot and ones that would be nice and quick to fix a craving. Here are three warm drinks I've fallen in love with already: Peach Apricot Cider (spiked), CranCherry Apple Cider, and Warm Lemonade.

So if your looking for something warm and comforting this winter - this one's for you :)

Warm Lemonade:

1     Cup        Hot Water
1     Tbl         Honey
1     Tbl         Lemon Juice
1                   Cinnamon Stick

Mix water, honey and lemon juice together - stirring with cinnamon stick. Allow cinnamon stick to stay in glass through up to 5 glasses (depending on how quickly you drink each cup).

If you wanted to let the cinnamon stick flavor all cups and not have to measure out your lemon juice you could increase the proportions as follows:

6       Cups      Water
1/2    Cup        Honey
2                      Lemons (juiced)
1                      Cinnamon Stick

Bring water to a boil. Reduce heat and add in honey, lemon juice, and cinnamon stick and allow to simmer for approximately 10 minutes.


CranCherry Apple Cider:

8      Cups       Apple Juice
4      Cups       Cran-Cherry Juice
4      Sticks      Cinnamon
6                     Allspice Berries
1/2   Cup        Maple Syrup
2      Tbl          Lemon Juice

Combine all ingredients in crock-pot and allow to cook over low for at least 4 hours. Remove allspice berries and cinnamon stick, and enjoy.

For a little extra festiveness, I've also added some cranberries to the pot - about a cup. However, I add them around the last hour of cooking time because the longer they're in there they will start to burst and not look as pretty. So if you want them for the flavor, add them in the morning and strain out to serve.



Peach Apricot Cider:

2      Cans     Peach Nectar
2      Cans     Apricot Nectar
1      Bag       Frozen Peach Slices (16 oz)
3      Cup      Water
2-3   Sticks    Cinnamon
1      Cup       Honey Whisky
1/4   Cup       Lemon Juice
1      Cup       Brown Sugar
6                    Allspice Berries

Combine all ingredients in a large pot and stir to combine. Cover and cook on medium-low for 2 - 3 hours. Remove cinnamon sticks and allspice berries and turn to warm setting (if have it) to keep it warm for serving.

These have been my main go to warm drinks so far this year. All of these can be made stovetop or in a crock-pot. The lemonade one, since I have a bowl of lemons, is really easy to make cup by cup - but especially over the weekend I like to toss things together in the crock-pot... let the aroma fill the house... and have a warm drink always ready to go throughout the day.