Fall in a Cup: My Favorite Wassail Recipe

Would you enjoy sipping on a warm, comforting beverage when it gets chilly outside? Would you like for your entire house to smell like apples, cinnamon, and cloves? Would you like to taste Fall?

Of course you would.

For these reasons and so many more, I thought I'd share with you my beloved wassail recipe. There are plentiful wassail recipes throughout the world wide web, but Kyle and I have been perfecting this one for nearly two years now. Unlike its Middle Aged ancestor, ours is a recipe free of alcohol and ginger; nevertheless, it is quite tasty and equally fragrant.

And a bonus? The longer it sits, the better it gets. Enjoy.

 THE GOODS:

1 gallon of sweet apple cider

1/2 to 1 canister of frozen lemonade concentrate (depending on how tart you'd like your wassail to be

6-8 cinnamon sticks

30-40 whole cloves

1/4 cup of Red Hots

2 apples, sliced (Not Pictured)

1 lemon, sliced (Not Pictured)

 Wassail is pretty much the easiest thing ever to cook. Mix all ingredients (except for apples and lemon slices) in a crock pot, set it on LOW, and let sit for at least 4 hours. 

At least.

 See all that yummy good-ness? Don't drink it yet! As I already noted, the longer you wait, the better. If using apples and lemon slices, add those to the mix about 1 hour before serving. The lemon juice from the lemonade concentrate should keep the apple slices from turning brown.

 Just before serving, we add a (sort of) secret ingredient to our wassail to bring all the flavors together...sugar-free vanilla syrup!! You know, the kind you add to lattes and such. The syrup helps to mellow the tartness of the lemonade concentrate, and it pairs really well with all of the spices in the wassail. I'd love to tell you just how much to add, but then our sort-of secret ingredient would cease to be a secret at all! A word of advice...don't go overboard. 

Mmmmm.