Yesterday was Joe’s birthday and since we went to brunch and then the Bucs game on Sunday he wanted a low-key easy dinner and celebration at home since his birthday fell on a Monday.

I knew that I wanted to make it feel special even though we were just eating and celebrating at home so I sought out a fun new drink to make for us with dessert. A few weeks ago we were randomly talking about mulled apple cider so I thought, what better evening to try my hand at making this popular holiday drink and ya’ll it turned out so good and it was so simple to make.

Now, you know that I love my crockpot so I decided to make ours in the crockpot but, you can make this on the stovetop too, whatever you prefer. I will say that if I was making this for a party, I would recommend using the crockpot so you can keep the drink warm for a longer period of time without having to have the stove on.

Anyways, let’s jump into the recipe because fun fact…when I am looking for a recipe on a blog I don’t want to have to scroll for a mile and read ten stories about it, anyone else? 😬 😂

A Very Merry Holiday Cider {Spiked Mulled Apple Cider}

Ingredients Needed:

• Half Gallon of Apple Cider

• 5 Cinnamon Sticks

• Star Anise Extract

• Whole Cloves

• All Spice Berries

• Your Choice of Rum

• 1 Orange, Sliced

Instructions:

• Add apple cider, 5 cinnamon sticks, a dash star anise extract, a dash of cloves and a dash of allspice berries to a crockpot or large sauce pan.

• Slice and add in orange slices.

• Bring to a boil and let simmer for 2-3 hours.

• 10-15 minutes before you are ready to serve add in your desired amount of rum and let mix/sit.

Extra Notes:

• I didn’t measure the spices, ha! The cider and rum are really the stars of the show and the spices are extra flavor so I say you know your family and guests best so use as you wish. I knew I didn’t want a strong spiced flavor so I just did a dash of each, probably around a tablespoon each if I had to guess.

• You can obviously not spike this and leave the rum out and kids can enjoy it too!

• It’s more fun to drink it out of a holiday cup with twinkle lights, just saying! 🥰

Enjoy friends! If you make this, let me know how you like it!