Spiced Apple Cider = {cup of cheer!}

When deciding beverages to serve for a small Christmas gathering I hostessed over the weekend, I couldn't help longing for a childhood favorite: hot apple cider. My mom always had a piping hot vat of cider on Christmas day ready to be dispensed to all the guests we welcomed in that day.

Ingredients:

6 cups - apple cider

1 teaspoon whole cloves

4 cinnamon sticks {more for garnish, if desired}

several generous shakes of nutmeg

1. Bring all ingredients to a boil in a large saucepan, then simmer for 10 minutes. The smell that will fill your kitchen is A-Ma-Zing.

2. Using a strainer to remove the cloves/sticks if you want, carefully pour the cider into your desired container. I used a large stainless steel serving thermos which held 12 cups, kept the cider steaming hot throughout the evening, and was easy to dispense.

3. Serve in cute mugs, garnished with cinnamon sticks!

That's it -- so easy and so cozy delicious!

Or for you less-ambitious types...just go to Starbucks and get some Caramel Apple Spice...extra hot, don't hold the whip!!!

:o)

G

Linking to this fun food par-tay:

{bits of christmas}

I must sincerely apologize.

I have been a very bad blogger lately. As in, completely MIA.

My only excuse I can give you right now is this: sheer exhaustion!

The holidays have finally taken their lovely hold on me, so I thought, just to stick my toe back into blogging, I would share a few bits and baubles from my home at Christmas so far...

{the smell of cinnamon-scented pinecones}

{some red and gold lovelies from the tree}

{shiny foil with deliciousness inside. p.s. these will not last long}

{our tree. white pine. freshly cut}

{Christmas sugar cookie baking. my very first time. can you believe? so yum. so messy.}

So this is Christmas so far at our Kentucky home --

much love to you and yours!

G