Thanksgiving Idea #1: DIY Mulling Spices for Cider or Wine

Creating your own mulling spices for the holidays is easy and fun. They make great gifts for teachers, neighbors, friends, and family. No need to spend a lot of money at Williams Sonoma when you can make your own for a fraction of the cost.

You can also keep mulled spices on hand for an inpromptu gathering or to pull out every night during the holidays, either for fragrance or for serving. Even just having it on the stove fills the entire home with a scent called Christmas.

+this post contains affiliate links – what I link to are items I use myself and can recommend first hand.

One of the best ways we can create the “magic” of the holiday season is to heighten the senses – especially smell. All spice, cloves, star anise, cardamom, cinnamon, and apple swirl together to create the fragrance of home.

These are easy to make in bulk. If you are doing a few, you might as well do a bunch.

I love keeping small gifts on hand for people and this one is perfect. I buy Apple Cider at the local orchards to gift with these as well. If you don’t have local orchards, Trader Joe’s has a good option – just make sure to get the regular Apple Cider and NOT the spiced Apple Cider (since you are adding the spices)!

This is one of my ideas for my “10 Days of Thanksgiving Ideas” I’m doing over on Instagram – join me there!

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I’d love to hear how you do YOUR cider or wine mulling spices and who you give it to this holiday season. Let’s make it our goal to bless as many people as possible with this simple gesture.

And remember – a little goes a long way! Don’t use too much in your cider or it will overpower it. Test it frequently to see when it has “mulled” enough time and then remove the spices. If you leave them in they will become too strong!

+This is part of my 10 Ideas for Thanksgiving series+

DIY Mulling Spices for Cider or Wine

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Make tins of mulling spices to give to your friends, community, and family!  Pair it with a jug of cider and this makes a thoughtful, perfect gift.

• Author: Krista Gilbert

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

2 tsp. all spice

2 tsp. cloves

2 tsp. cardamon pods

4 cinnamon sticks or pieces

3 star anise

Cheesecloth

String

Apple Cider

Garnishes (apple, lemon, and orange slices)

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

Add 1 gallon to apple cider to a large pot.  Gather half of the mulling spices and wrap them in cheesecloth tied with a string.  Bring the cider and spices to a simmer and steep the spices for 30 min. to 2 hours (depending on how strong you like your spices).  Check it frequently and be sure to pull the spices out of the pot when it gets to the perfect spot.

Add garnish to the pot – apple, orange, and lemon slices all look beautiful as well as a couple of cinnamon sticks and star anise. This is for decoration and not for taste.

Enjoy!

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