Wassail For Your Wednesday

Wassail is one of those family traditions that I picked up quite by accident. The first time I had it I was living in Colorado, during what was presumably a freezing, blustery December. I was never a fan of skiing, but I did enjoy finding new ways of staying cozy and warm. This delicious seasonal beverage was one of those discoveries.

It is a very simple recipe - and I wish I could credit the source. The person who made it for me first shared the recipe in the form of a very old newspaper clipping, and I copied it down into email form and sent it to myself back in 2009. Note: this recipe does require a crockpot, but I would bet that putting it on a pot on the stove on the lowest setting would do the trick, as well.

• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 quarts apple cider or juice
• 1 pint cranberry juice
• 1 teaspoon aromatic bitters
• 1 cup rum
• 2 sticks cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon whole allspice
• 1 small orange -- studded with cloves

Combine sugar and juices in the pot; stir until sugar is dissolved and combined with the juice.

Rinse and/or scrub the surface of the orange well, then take your cloves and press them through the orange rind. I usually leave the orange whole - but if you'd like the juices to incorporate more, you could also slice it in half. If you'd prefer to be able to remove the loose spices at the end, you could tie them in cheesecloth to make a small pouch. Once all ingredients are combined, cover the crock pot and cook for 1 hour on high, then simmer for 4-8 hours on low.

This is a great one for company, because when you make this, your house is going to smell wonderful. It's very easy to adjust and customize - I never remember to have bitters on hand, so I rarely add them; you could also easily reduce the sugar or remove the rum. I like to splash a good deal more rum in the crockpot once it's finished cooking for some additional warmth.

There's still time to collect the ingredients to make this one for the holidays - do it. I promise you'll love it.

xo,

Kirsten