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Cider Season
For me, there's still no drink that screams fall more than apple cider. I love a glass of hot spiced cider on a cool autumn day, but cider can be used in baking and cooking as well. I hope you'll enjoy these recipes from my kitchen to yours!
Hot Spiced Cider
Bonus Content!
Serves 10 to 12

Ingredients
- 1/2 gallon apple cider
- 1 orange, quartered
- 2 cinnamon sicks
- 2 teaspoons whole cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 1/2-inch piece fresh ginger (unpeeled), or 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon peppercorns, optional
Directions
Place cider, oranges and spices into a large pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. Strain out oranges and spices and serve warm. Alternatively, prepare cider in a slow cooker: place spices inside a piece of cheesecloth, tie it closed with kitchen twine and add it to the slow cooker along with the cider and oranges; place a lid on and cook for 2 to 3 hours on low. Remove spices before serving.
Cider Spice Cake
Yields 1 cake
Ingredients
For the cake:
- Cinnamon sugar
- 15-ounce white cake mix, such as Betty Crocker
- 1 1/2 cups apple cider (or enough to replace water per cake mix ingredients)
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil (or as per box ingredients)
- 3 eggs (or as per box ingredients)
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
For the glaze:
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons melted butter
- 4 tablespoons apple cider
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Directions
Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a bundt pan and add enough cinnamon sugar to coat the inside of the pan well. In a medium bowl, whisk together all cake ingredients and mix until well combined. Pour into prepared pan. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Remove cake from oven and cool for 15 minutes. Use a rubber spatula to loosen cake from pan and invert onto a serving plate. To make the glaze, whisk together all ingredients. Drizzle over cake before serving.
Cider-Glazed Pork Chops
Serves 4 to 6
Ingredients
- 2 cups apple cider
- 2 pounds boneless pork loin chops
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
Directions
To make the glaze, place the cider in a saucepan; bring to boil and reduce heat to a moderate simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, until cider reduces to the thickness of maple syrup, about 1 hour. (Glaze will thicken more as it cools; if it thickens too much, stir in a few more tablespoons of cider.) Preheat a grill or grill pan to medium-high. Rinse pork chops and pat them dry. Combine spices, salt and sugar in a small bowl. Rub mixture onto all sides of pork chops. Place chops onto preheated grill or grill pan. Cook for 4 minutes, or until chops release easily. Flip, reduce temperature to low and continue cooking until cooked through, at least 145°F (time will vary based on thickness of pork chops). Drizzle cider glaze over pork chops before serving.