Warm Pear Cider

I have sorta been on a roll with my days this week, Tasty Tuesday, Wordless Wednesday, therefore I might as well continue on and do Thirsty Thursday. This warm pear cider looks amazing to me. Use your normal mug to serve them, or carve out the inside of pears like they did in the original post.

Warm Pear Cider

Ingredients:

3 ½ cups pear nectar

1-2 sticks of cinnamon

3 whole cloves

4 whole anise stars

¾ cup tequila gold

4 Asian pears (optional)

Directions:

Combine pear nectar, cinnamon sticks, cloves, and anise stars in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes.

Add tequila and stir to incorporate.

To make the pear cups:

Cut off the pear top and with a sharp knife carefully outline a rim on your pear cup.

With a melon baller or a spoon, hollow out the pear making sure to leave about 1/4 inch at the bottom and around the edges, creating a cup.

Pour warm nectar into pear cups and enjoy.

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If you are a bloody Bloody Mary fan, head over to Sweet Southern Prep's Thirsty Thursday post today for a Bloody Maria recipe.

Sippin' on Saturday

This recipe for hot chocolate makes some of the most delicious hot chocolate that I have ever tasted. I served it on Christmas morning last year. Everyone went back for more and scraped the bottom for the last drop. I will certainly be making it again this year on Christmas morning, too.

Peppermint Patty Hot Chocolate

4 cups milk

4 cups whipping cream

1/2 cup sugar

3 (4-oz.) semisweet chocolate baking bars, broken into pieces

1/4 tsp. salt

3/4 cup peppermint schnapps

Garnishes: whipped cream topping, crushed hard peppermint candies.

Heat first 3 ingredients in a large saucepan over medium-high heat until sugar dissolves and mixture is thoroughly heated. Remove from heat; add chocolate and salt, whisking until chocolate melts. Stir in peppermint schnapps. Garnish, if desired. Serve immediately. Yield: 11 cups.

Click here for a recipe to make Peppermint Marshmallows.

Click here for a recipe to make Peppermint Stick Cocoa in a jar.

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Chai Tea Mix

2 1/2 tsp. ground ginger

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

3/4 tsp. ground cloves

3/4 tsp ground cardamom (optional)

1 tsp. ground allspice

1 tsp. ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

1 1/2 cups unsweetened instant tea or decaffeinated instant tea

1 1/2 to 2 cups sugar

1 cup nonfat dry milk powder

1 cup powdered nondairy creamer

1 cup French vanilla-flavored powdered nondairy creamer

Combine spices and tea in a food processor or blender. Blend 1 to 2 minutes or until mixture becomes a fine powder. Pour into large bowl. Add sugar to food processor or blender (without cleaning it), and process until superfine, about 30 seconds. Add sugar to bowl of spices. Stir in milk powder and creamers; blend well. Spoon mix into gift jars, if desired.

To serve, stir 2 heaping tablespoons Chai Tea mix into a mug of hot milk or boiling water. Yield: 5 1/2 cups mix.

Chocolate Chai Mix: Add 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa along with dry milk powder to the blend above. Follow serving directions above. (Use milk with this.)

Chai Shake: Blend 1/4 cup Chai Tea Mix, 1 cup milk, and 3 1/2 cups vanilla ice cream in a blender.

White Chocolate Chai: Add 1/4 cup finely chopped premium white chocolate to 1 cup Chai Tea Mix. Stir well. Follow serving directions above with 2 heaping tablespoons per cup of hot milk or boiling water.

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I added a few new items to my blog sale, so check it out!

Hot Toddy

Hot Toddy: a mixed drink, usually including alcohol, that is served hot. Hot toddies (such as mulled cider) are traditionally drunk before going to bed, or in wet or cold weather. (I chose to leave out the last sentence from Wikipedia...something about hot toddies and alcohol causing dehydration.)

My husband is the king of making hot toddies for me when I am feeling a little down from the cold weather. He always lets the tea steep the right amount of time, adds the perfect amounts of honey, orange and a little something to make me breathe fire. There are so many variations to make these drinks and you really can add just about anything, but I found two that sounded extra tasty to me.

Hot Toddy #1

Ingredients:

4 slices of red apple

3 cinnamon sticks

3 slices of orange

2 cloves

16 oz simple syrup (equal part sugar dissolved in water)

16 oz bourbon whiskey

Directions:

Add all ingredients to a large saucepan and put over low heat. Slowly bring up to a simmer to infuse the bourbon, and keep over low heat for 5-7 minutes until the fragrance of the mixture becomes more apparent. Serve warm.

Serves 4; Cook time 15 minutes.

 

 



Hot Toddy #2

 

Ingredients:

hot tea

honey

orange

brandy

 

Directions:

1. Drizzle a tsp. of honey around the inside of the glass

2. Squeeze a little citrus (raspberry blood orange)

3. Pour in a shot (or two) of any good spicy brandy (or rum or whiskey)

4. Fill the remainder of the glass with fresh brewed hot tea

Optional:

Cinnamon stick for garnish; leave in to infuse.

Pumpkin Spice White Hot Chocolate

Guilty as charged for not making this yet, but when I spied this delicious drink I just had to share it before I got the chance to make it. I am so tempted to make one of these right now, but I unfortunately do not have any white chocolate. It has officially gone on my Thanksgiving shopping list, as I will be serving this next week to friends and family.

Pumpkin Spice White Hot Chocolate

Ingredients:

1.5 cups whole milk

1/2 cup canned pumpkin puree

1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

pinch of ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

pinch sea salt

2 ounces white chocolate (roughly chopped)

Directions:

1. In a small sauce pan over medium heat, combine milk, pumpkin and spices. Cook string constantly until just simmering.
2. Remove from heat and add chocolate ( reserve some for garnish)

3. Just before serving, top each mug with a generous mound of whipped cream, a few shavings of white chocolate, and a sprinkle of pumpkin pie spice or cinnamon. Serve immediately.

Notes:

To store, let cool, cover, and refrigerate. Reheat to serve. Recipe can easily be doubled. Yields 2.

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Hot Apple Rum Wassail

The ribbon and cinnamon stick had me at "hello" on this tasty drink. We all need hostess gifts to give during the hoidays and I think this would make an excellent little treat.

Hot Apple Rum Wassail

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons whole cloves

1 orange

2 quarts apple cider

½ cup light brown sugar

pinch of nutmeg, grated

1 cup dark rum

Cinnamon sticks, garnish

Directions:

1. Stud the orange with cloves, slice.

2. In a medium pot, combine the studded orange slices and the remaining ingredients

except the rum.

3. Slowly bring to a simmer over low heat. Simmer for 10 minutes.

Remove from heat and add the rum.

4. To serve immediately - strain, ladle into mugs and garnish with cinnamon stick.

Idea:

Serve it in a punch bowl with fresh apple slices as garnishes.

Sippin' On Saturday: Hot Cider Nog

Now that we are getting down to the end of the year and two big holidays, I thought it would be fun to share different cold weather drinks. These are all perfect to sip on a Saturday when there is no rush to get out of the house. Serve them to holidays guests at a party or family get-together. If you have any to share, please feel free to email me about doing a guest post.

Hot Cider Nog

Ingredients:

2 cups half-and-half

1 cup milk

1 cup apple cider
2 large eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 cup bourbon (optional)
Sweetened whipped cream
Garnishes: cinnamon sticks, ground cinnamon, apple slices

Directions:
Whisk together half-and-half, milk, apple cider, eggs, sugar, 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg in a heavy saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat, whisking constantly, 15 to 20 minutes or until mixture thickens and coats a spoon. Remove from heat; stir in bourbon, if desired. Top each serving with sweetened whipped cream. Garnish, if desired.
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