Hard Cider:

      A few weeks ago I ditched the idea of a savory lasagna and instead made a sweet dessert pumpkin lasagna (recipe here). Whenever I make a lasagna I always find that there are left over ingredients like noodles, extra sauce, etc. but this time around (with such an unusual lasagna recipe), I had some unique left over items perfect for transforming into something entirely different! So here I bring you a delightful recipe for a spiced and spiked cider ideal for upcoming holiday parties or a night in with a good book utilizing the leftovers from a previous recipe!

Magic Ingredients:

-6 cups unfiltered apple juice

-2 cups unfiltered cranberry juice

-2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

-2 tablespoons pumpkin pie spice (plus extra for garnish)

-1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

-1 cup cup sugar

-1 cup water

-Spiced rum (the amount is of your choosing!)

-Heavy whipping cream

-1/2 cup powdered sugar

Let's Get Started!

1: In a medium pot, bring the water, sugar, cinnamon,  nutmeg, and pumpkin pie spice to a boil and stir occasionally until the sugar has dissolved. 

2: Add the apple juice and cranberry juice to the mixture and heat thru

3: Using a standard or hand held mixture whip the heavy whipping cream with the powdered sugar until it becomes light and fluffy. 

4: In a mug, add your desired amount of rum, spiced cider, and top with the whipped cream, garnish with a dusting of pumpkin pie spice and serve:

      I love the idea of morphing the same ingredients into two completely different dishes, don't you? Even the cookies I ended up serving along with the cider were originally used for the crust of the pumpkin lasagna! 

Yours,

Nico