Add pomegranate juice to your hot apple cider for extra flavor and nutrients!
[Disclosure: This post was developed as part of my partnership with POM Wonderful, one of the sponsors of Blog Brûlée.]
The weather is (finally) cooling down and it’s time to get into hot cocoa, hot cider and hot buttered rum mode. (OK, admittedly, I’ve never had hot butter rum but it just sounds good – like butterbeer from Harry Potter books.)
This year, we were fortunate to have POM Wonderful back with us at Smugglers’ Notch as repeat Blog Brûlée sponsor and once again they did not disappoint. I even learned some new fun facts like:
- Each 8-ounce bottle of POM Wonderful contains the juice from two whole pomegranates (and nothing else.)
- Each 8-ounce bottle has a much potassium as a banana.
- POM Wonderful grows, handpicks and juices all its own pomegranates so they are truly a farm to table product.
- On average, POM Wonderful contains 3x the antioxidants of green tea.
- The icon bottle was designed to look like two pomegranates on top of each other!
As for sampling POM Wonderful, we somehow timed it right with serving a delicious sparkling POM Party Punch at the opening reception (with highs of 86 F that day – IN VERMONT!) But two days later, temps dropped by 30 degrees which was the perfect weather to enjoy this Warmed Spiced POM Cider.
Now, I’ve only ever had warmed apple cider a few times before but after sampling this pomegranate juice version, recipe lightbulbs were going off in my head. The original recipe uses only POM juice so for my version below I decided to do a true recipe mash-up and add some leftover apple cider I had in the fridge.
#sponsored Hot Pomegranate Apple Cider Drink via @pomwonderful #blogbrulee @tspbasil Click To Tweet
I also made this in the slow cooker – which is ironic because I don’t use my Crockpot all that often (I tend use it less for meals and more for Healthy Kitchen Hacks like making caramelized onions or overnight cooked oats.)
But this is the perfect way to keep your POM cider drink warm, especially when serving to a crowd. We’re having people over for a potluck dinner on Halloween before trick or treating and my slow cooker will be on warm with a ladle, mugs and a bowl of pomegranate arils for garnish beside it.
Description
Add pomegranate juice to your hot apple cider for extra flavor and nutrients!
- 48 ounces POM Wonderful 100% Pomegranate Juice
- 16 ounces apple cider
- 8 ounces water
- 3 cinnamon sticks (or 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon)
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 large navel orange, thinly sliced
- 3/4 cup POM POM Fresh Pomegranate Arils
- Add POM Wonderful juice, apple cider, water, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger to a slow cooker. Cook on low heat for a few hours before serving (you can also do this on the stove.)
- Before serving, mix in vanilla extract and add orange slices.
- When serving, add a tablespoon of pomegranate arils to each cup.
Not a fan of hot juice drinks? No problem! After simmering the liquid for 30 minutes, cool it down in the refrigerator. Then before serving, mix in some sparkling water, pour into glasses and garnish pomegranate arils and orange slices.
Have you ever made/served hot cider before?
