DIY Homemade Mulling Spice

Need an awesome, inexpensive gift for teachers/neighbors/friends etc.?  Have you ever tried making your own mulling spice?  Mulling spices are basically a medley {I’m really proud of the use of the word medley there—makes me seem very gourmet, if I do say so myself} of spices that you can use to turn apple cider into mulled cider.

Your recipients’ houses will smell amazing, their bellies will be full of warm cider, and you, my friends, will be remembered for giving the best gifts ever.

You’ll need:

• Bags to put the mulling spices in {THESE are cool, because they are empty tea bags, which seems fitting}
• Twine, ribbon, yarn, or something of your choosing to tie the bags {I’m going to use cooking twine, so that all my friends have to do is throw them into the crock pot with the cider}
• Assorted Spices {see below}

Ingredients

• 6 oz of whole cinnamon sticks
• 10 whole nutmegs
• 2/3 cup dried orange peel
• 2/3 cup dried lemon peel
• 3/4 cup whole cloves
• 1/2 cup allspice berries

*I recommend buying these in bulk from your local grocery store or Amazon.

Instructions

Put the cinnamon sticks and nutmegs into a food processor {or a plastic bag and use a rolling pin} and pulse a couple of times to break up into smaller pieces.  Place them in a large bowl and add remaining ingredients.  Stir to mix ingredients well.  Now put 2-3 tbsp. of the spice mixture in each bag.  Tie the bag at the top, giving it enough head room that the liquid get in around the spices.

To make the mulled cider, add ½ gallon apple cider and 1 spice bag to your crockpot and allow it to simmer on low for a couple of hours.  {You can do this on the stove too.  It will take about 40 minutes or so, but I like the crockpot because I can throw it all in and walk away—plus the house smells awesome for way longer.}

*If you plan to give these as gifts, make sure to include instructions on how to make the cider.  I think these would be soooo cute placed inside a fun coffee mug or tea cup and then wrapped in cellophane.

Mull it over and give it a try {pun intended},

Mavis