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Wassail may be a traditional holiday drink, but that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy it all autumn long! This warmly spiced hot mulled cider comes together in minutes and can be heated on the stove or in the slow cooker.
In my opinion, there’s nothing better during the fall and winter months than cozying up on the couch with a soft blanket, TV remote and a warm drink.
Add a flickering fire and you pretty much have a perfect evening at home!
WHAT IS WASSAIL?
After I became a mama and Eric and I were starting to create our own family’s holiday traditions, I really began to reflect on the traditions we had while I was growing up.
My great aunt, Dorothy, had a wonderful tradition of making old English Wassail every Christmas. I love her recipe and have incorporated it into some of our own fall and winter traditions.
If you’ve never had Wassail before, it’s a hot mulled cider that has been a holiday tradition in England since at least the middle ages. It is made with plenty of warm spices like cloves, nutmeg, and cinnamon, and it’s the perfect non-alcoholic way to warm up on a chilly day.
Of course, you can most certainly add in a little alcohol, but that’s really up to you!
Even though Wassail is most traditionally served during Christmastime, I actually enjoy drinking it all autumn long. After all, what better way to use pressed cider from the local orchard?
HOW TO MAKE WASSAIL
My favorite kinds of drinks come together in a matter of minutes and this one is no different.
The apples in the cider pair so well with the other flavors we’re adding in, including:
- Oranges
- Whole cloves
- Cinnamon sticks
- Whole nutmeg
- Allspice berries
- Dried ginger pieces
You can pick up small jars of whole spices at most grocery stores, but I like to order mine in bulk online. They stay good in your pantry much longer than ground spices and are great to keep on hand to make things like homemade chai concentrate.
To make the Wassail, start by making a pomander orange – just a fresh orange studded with whole cloves that is baked in a low oven for 1 hour.
Making the pomander orange is the most effort you’ll have to use for this recipe. The rest is a breeze!
Add the cider, pomander orange, a sliced orange, sliced apple, and the spices into a large pot and simmer for at least 2 hours.
That’s it! Before serving, pull out the spices (or strain the cider to remove them) but leave the pomander orange for serving. You can even garnish the glasses with cinnamon sticks or candied orange slices!
CAN I MAKE THIS RECIPE IN A SLOW COOKER?
If you don’t want to keep an eye on the stove for a couple of hours while the Wassail mulls, you could absolutely make this in a slow cooker.
Just add everything to a large slow cooker and cook on low for 4 hours. If your Crockpot has a “warm” setting, you can even use that for serving so it stays nice and warm all evening long.
CAN WASSAIL BE REHEATED?
Wanna know a secret? I rarely make my Wassail the same day that I’m serving it.
If I’m hosting a party or having family over for Thanksgiving or Christmas, I will mull the cider the day before. I then strain it back into the jug the cider came in and pop it back into the refrigerator with the pomander orange.
The next day, I add the Wassail back into my slow cooker with the pomander orange and let it heat back up while I get everything else ready.
Even if you aren’t having a party, you could mull the cider any time you like and then just reheat a mug at a time. I mean, how nice would a hot mug of mulled cider be while watching a movie on the couch with your family??
Wassail
Ingredients
- 1 orange studded with approximately 30 whole cloves
- 1 gallon quality apple cider
- 8 cinnamon sticks
- 1 whole nutmeg
- 5 allspice berries
- ½ to 1 tablespoon dried ginger pieces optional
- 1 orange sliced into rounds
- 1 apple sliced into rounds
- Simple syrup to taste optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200 degrees F. Insert the cloves into the orange by piercing the skin with the end of the cloves. Bake pomander orange in preheated oven for 1 hour.
- Remove orange from oven and set aside.
- In a large pot over low heat, stir together apple cider, cinnamon sticks, nutmeg, allspice, ginger, sliced orange and apple. Add pomander orange to the pot and simmer uncovered for at least 2 hours. Alternately add mixture to a slow cooker and cook on low heat for 4 hours.
- Before serving, strain spices from the cider, but reserve the pomander orange. Add cider back into the pot with the pomander orange. Serve warm.
- If you desire a sweeter wassail, add simple syrup to taste.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Our favorite tradition is going out looking at Christmas lights the weekend before Christmas. However, I am thinking about starting another tradition that we use to have as kids. On Christmas Eve, the adults make cookies and the kids decorate them. I miss that and might start doing that again next year.
We have started a new “chocolate advent calendar” tradition or my 1 year old granddaughter. We never did this at our house, but a customer brought me one for her this year and she really enjoyed it. I see us doing it year after year!
Traditions? None right now but hope we can start some.
our family tradition for the holidays is to have a nice big family meal together
i posted a tweet here:
https://twitter.com/bellows22/status/550425891872833536
we enjoy baking and decorating Christmas cookies!
https://twitter.com/klp1965/status/550420111455043584
No I have not startednew ones but I should..We love to bake on christmas eve and make goodie baskets for family and friends