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Homemade apple cider is a great way to enjoy the crisp autumn weather that is upon us. Every cup of cider is sweet and filled with a warm spice. It’s as easy as throwing a bunch of chopped apples and an orange into a crockpot and letting it stew for a few hours. Your whole house will smell like fall exploded all over it.

The nice thing about making your own cider is that you can adjust the sweetness by picking your own apple variety’s and with how much sugar you add. Don’t throw out the discarded apples too because they blend up into a great apple sauce!

Apples
Cider ingredients in pot
Cider ingredients in pot
Stewed Apples

Ingredients:

  • 1 orange
  • 10 medium apples (use a variety– I used Honeycrisp)
  • 2 cinnamon sticks (or 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon)
  • 1 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1 star anise
  • 1/3 cup granulated sugar
Apple Cider

Tips & Tricks:

  • Pick Your Apples: Sweet apples – Jazz, Honeycrisp, Pink Lady, Gala, and Fuji. Tart apples – Granny Smith, Braeburn, Jonathan, and Pacific Rose.
  • Cut Your Apples: To make the cooking process easier cut the apples into 1/4s or even 1/6 pieces this will ensure all of the juices of the apple are released and they apple is soft.
  • Sugar: If you are looking for sweetness similar to a cider you would get at your grocery store add 1/2 cup instead of 1/3 cup.
  • Spick it: If you are a fan of alcoholic ciders try adding a shot of apple whisky or spiced rum.
  • Freezing Instructions: Cider can be frozen up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator.
Homemade Apple Cider
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Homemade Apple Cider

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Course: DrinksCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy
Cook Mode

Keep the screen of your device on

Servings

8

servings
Prep time

30

minutes
Cooking time

8

hours 
Calories

190

kcal
Total time

8

hours 

30

minutes

Warm up this October with a steaming mug of sweet apple cider. Everything comes together in a crockpot so you can set it and forget it.

Ingredients

  • 1 orange

  • 10 medium apples (I used Honeycrisp)

  • 2 cinnamon sticks (or 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon)

  • 1 teaspoon ground cloves

  • 1 star anise

  • 1/3 cup granulated sugar

Directions

  • Peel the orange and place the segments in a 4 quart or larger slow cooker. Rinse all of the apples, cut into quarters, and place in your slow cooker (no need to peel them). Add the cinnamon sticks, ground cloves, star anise, and sugar. Add just enough water to cover the fruit.
  • Cook on low heat for 6-7 hours. (Or high heat for 3-4.)
  • After cooking, the fruit should be very soft. Use a large spoon or potato masher to mash the fruit and release all its liquids. Allow the cider to cook on low for 1 more hour.
  • Very slowly strain the chunky liquid though a fine mesh sieve into a large pot or pitcher. Keep the strained out apples and blend it up with some additional sugar to make a quick apple sauce (do not blend the cinnamon sticks or star anise). Strain the cider one more time to rid any other solids (this can take a while if you don’t mid a slightly thicker cider you can skip this step). Serve the cider warm.
  • Leftover cider keeps well in the refrigerator for up to 5-7 days. Warm up on the stove before serving or enjoy it cold.

Notes

  • Nutrition Facts: Serving Size: 1, Calories 190, Total Fat 0.6g (1% Daily Value), Saturated Fat 0g (0% Daily Value), Cholesterol 0mg (0% Daily Value), Sodium 3mg (0% Daily Value), Carbohydrate 50.2g (18% Daily Value), Dietary Fiber 7.7g (28% Daily Value), Sugars 39.5g, Protein 1g

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