My house smells amazing right now.  I love autumn scents and fill my house with them each year with candles and oil plug ins.  However, when homemade apple cider is simmering on the stove, I cannot even describe the incredible aroma it produces!

This cider is made from scratch, and is quite possibly the best cider I’ve ever had – even better than Starbucks, which is a big deal for me to say!  I used a juicer to make this process a little faster, but if you don’t have a juicer, you can still get similar results with an extra hour of simmering and straining the fruit through a sieve or cheesecloth.

Hot Apple Cider Recipe serves 4-6

7-8 apples I used 3 fuji, 2 honey crisp, 1 gala, & 1 granny smith 

1 orange

1/4C brown sugar

4 cinnamon sticks

1 whole nutmeg

1/4t ground cloves

zest from 1 lemon

1.5C water

Quarter the apples and orange and juice them using a juicer.

I love my Jack LaLanne juicer – it’s so easy to use and wasn’t terribly expensive as far as juicers go.  The health benefits of freshly juiced produce are fantastic, too!  The apples will produce about 4.5 cups of fresh apple juice.

Combine the apple juice, orange juice, spices, sugar, lemon zest, and water in a pot and simmer uncovered on medium heat for about one hour.

Strain the cinnamon sticks, lemon zest, and nutmeg out and serve hot.  I am incredibly proud of how it turned out!

Serve with a cinnamon stick and enjoy!

It’s like fall in a cup!  Happy Saturday!