Great Edibles Recipes: Homemade Spiced Apple Cider

Autumn is my favorite season by a landslide. The sun is still bright and warm, yet the nights and mornings grow colder with frosty dew. To me, this is the ideal weather for apple picking, wearing layers and cozying up by the fire. Hot apple cider is the perfect drink to enjoy as the air begins to cool and the nights become chilly. Try this medicated spiced apple cider… it’s tangy, delicious and sure to warm and soothe the soul.

Serves 8-10

Here’s What You Need:

• 10 apples (fuji, gala or granny smith)
• ½ cup packed brown sugar
• roughly 3 cups of water (or enough to submerge the apples in your stock pot)
• 1 orange (zested, seeded and sliced into rings)
• 3 cinnamon sticks
• 1 teaspoon whole cloves
• ⅛ teaspoon ground ginger
• ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ¼ cup cannabis-infused tincture (glycerin or alcohol will do, but glycerin is recommended as it will not alter the taste as much)
• 1 potato masher (or any other kitchen gadget that will allow you to smush the cooked apples – a large fork would suffice)
• 1 fine mesh strainer
• 3-4 cheese cloths

How to Make Homemade Spiced Apple Cider

To begin, thoroughly wash and core the apples.

Next, quarter the apples into chunks and throw them into a large stock pot.

Then, fill the stockpot with enough water to completely cover and submerge the apple chunks. Proceed to add in the brown sugar and stir all the ingredients.

Next, tightly wrap the cinnamon sticks and whole cloves in the cheese-cloth and add them to the stockpot. Feel free to add any other spices you may enjoy (star anise, allspice, etc).

Place the stock pot on the stove and boil the contents over high heat for 1 hour, uncovered. Make sure you check the apples frequently, and stir throughout the cooking process.

After 1 hour has passed, turn the heat down to low and continue to simmer the contents of your stock pot for 2 hours, this time covered with a lid.

After 2 hours, remove the stockpot from the heat and allow the contents to cool.

Once cool, remove the cheese cloth containing the spices and discard them.

Then, take the potato masher and smush the cooked apples to a pulp.

Using a fine mesh strainer, you now want to separate out as much liquid from the apple pulp as possible. Place the strainer over a large bowl, and allow the cider to drain from the pulp with the help of gravity or the back of a large wooden spoon. After most of the liquid has drained out from the apple pulp, you can get even more cider out by using a doubled-up cheese cloth. Take 2 cheese cloths and the “once-pressed” apple pulp within it, and squeeze with all of your might over the large bowl to catch the apple cider that wrings out.

Once you have your yield of cider, pour the liquid back into a stockpot or sauce pan and bring the cider to a simmer over low-heat.

Drizzle in the cannabis-infused tincture and sprinkle in the ground ginger and nutmeg. Stir the cider to fully incorporate the tincture and spices.

Serve the cider warm (or cold, but let’s face it, warm is better) in either a cored-out apple or simple mug, garnished with a cinnamon stick.

You can store your cider in the refrigerator for up to one week.

Enjoy!