Mini Apple Cider Simmer Pot
This mini apple cider simmer pot doubles as a lovely scent-diffusing simmer pot and a small batch cocktail! Apple cider, spiced rum, amaretto, and seasonal add-ins simmer together to make your house smell like autumn, then turn into a delicious fall cocktail for a small group.
Simmer pots are one of the best parts of the holidays – just mix together some seasonal ingredients, set them on the stove to simmer, and your whole house smells delicious all day. This simmer pot recipe even doubles as a small batch cocktail, so it’s an incredible two for one, and you really have no reason not to make it! It’s a simple mixture of apple cider, spiced rum, and amaretto with some festive autumn mix-ins like apple slices, cinnamon sticks, star anise, and cranberries. I even had some leftover dried orange slices that I added into mine – optional, but a lovely addition! You can easily scale the recipe to make a larger batch, or take out the alcohol entirely if needed – see some tips on that below.
Here are some more holiday drink recipes you’ll love: Peppermint White Russians, Frosted Cranberry Margaritas, and Gingerbread Rum Spiced Eggnog.
Ingredients & Equipment
You’ll need the following ingredients and equipment to make this mini apple cider simmer pot:
- Small saucepan or pot
- Apple cider
- Amaretto
- Spiced rum
- Cranberries
- Apples
- Cinnamon sticks
- Star anise
- Dried orange slices (optional)
Customize This Recipe!
There are a few different ways you can customize this recipe:
- Add your favorite mix ins. You can play around with fruits, spices, herbs, and more to discover your favorite flavor & scent combinations!
- Remove the alcohol. If you’re strictly making a simmer pot for the scents and don’t have/want to use alcohol, swap it with a cup of orange juice and a splash of vanilla or almond extract.
Kitchen Tips:
- Utilize mise en place! Make sure you have all of your ingredients prepped and ready before you begin making this recipe – it will help save you time and keep you organized.
- If you want to easily make your own dried orange slices, just thinly slice your oranges, dry them well on a paper towel, and let them bake in the oven at 200ºF for around 3 hours, checking their color and dryness every so often to make sure they aren’t burnt!
FAQ
Of course! If you don’t want to get cocktails out of this recipe and simply want a simmer pot to leave on the stove, you can swap the alcohol with a cup of orange juice, some vanilla or almond extract, and a bit of water, depending on how big you want the batch to be.
Definitely – this recipe makes four cocktails as-is, but you can easily double the recipe for a larger batch!
This simmer pot is best enjoyed as cocktails after simmering, but you can remove/strain out the add-ins and store the liquid in a sealed container in the fridge for around 2-3 weeks.
More drink and cocktail recipes:
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Mini Apple Cider Simmer Pot
Equipment
- small saucepan
Ingredients
- 3 cups apple cider
- 1 cup spiced rum
- ½ cup amaretto
- star anise
- cinnamon sticks
- apple slices
- cranberries
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to a small saucepan and let simmer on the stovetop.
- When warmed, serve as drinks, or let the pot simmer as long as you'd like!
Notes
- Utilize mise en place! Make sure you have all of your ingredients prepped and ready before you begin making this recipe – it will help save you time and keep you organized.
- If you want to easily make your own dried orange slices, just thinly slice your oranges, dry them well on a paper towel, and let them bake in the oven at 200ºF for around 3 hours, checking their color and dryness every so often to make sure they aren’t burnt!
- Add your favorite mix ins. You can play around with fruits, spices, herbs, and more to discover your favorite flavor & scent combinations!
- Remove the alcohol. If you’re strictly making a simmer pot for the scents and don’t have/want to use alcohol, swap it with a cup of orange juice and a splash of vanilla or almond extract.
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