Fresh apples and pears cooked with cinnamon sticks, cloves, all spice, and nutmeg. This delicious slightly sweetened spiced apple pear cider is the perfect drink for fall.
Omg! This apple pear cider!
I’ve been waiting to share this with you for awhile now, but I thought it’d be better to wait until we got closer to Thanksgiving. That way, you can enjoy this cider during your family festivities. Or maybe have a glass while you’re cooking? I definitely would.
Apples and pears have always been one of my favorite combinations of fall flavors. But for some reason, you don’t often see them together.
We’re remedying that this fall.
The tartness of the apples, the sweetness of the pears, the warm flavors of all the spices, all present in one drink.
This apple pear cider is soo simple to make, but you have to have patience. It takes awhile for the apples and pears to boil down, and then it takes awhile for the cider to cool, then you’ll have to strain it so that none of the pulp gets into the cider. Is it worth it? Yes!
Another option for this fall?
My original fresh apple cider.
Cut and remove the core from apples and pears. I used honey crisp apples and granny smiths for sweetness and D’Anjou pears, but you can use whatever you like, or whatever you have on hand.
Place them into a large pot, and cover them with water. I used about 9 cups of water.
Add cinnamon sticks, whole cloves, all spice, nutmeg, brown sugar, and granulated sugar.
If you want your cider to have a more brown color, instead of using whole cinnamon sticks and whole cloves, you can use the powdered version instead. You can also add more brown sugar to sweeten the cider more.
Cook the apples and pears over medium to high heat for about hour. The apples and pears should be soft. Smash them with a wooden spoon or ladle, and cook for an additional 20-30 minutes. The longer you cook the apples and pears in the spices, the more flavorful the cider will be.
Turn the heat off, and allow the apple pear cider to cool completely, about 1 1/2 hours. You want it to be comfortable to touch. Otherwise, you’ll burn your fingers.
Pour the apple pear mixture into a fine mesh sieve, and strain. I used a nut bag. If there are any solids that remain, you can strain the cider again before serving.
Serve the cider warm or cold with a sprinkle of ground cinnamon if desired.
Store the cider in a sealed container or jar in the fridge. I stored it in two large mason jars.
Enjoy!
Before I forget there’s still time to enter my 3 year anniversary giveaway! It ends later this week!
- 3 large apples, quartered with seeds and stems removed
- 3 large pears, quartered with seeds and stems removed
- 9 cups water
- 3 cinnamon sticks
- 1 tablespoon whole cloves
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground all spice
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- Ground cinnamon
- Place the quartered apples and pears into a large pot and fill with water.
- Add cinnamon sticks, whole cloves, all spice, nutmeg, brown sugar, and granulated sugar.
- Cook the apples and pears over medium to high heat for about hour. The apples and pears should be soft. Smash them with a wooden spoon or ladle, and cook for an additional 20-30 minutes. The longer the apples and pears are cooked in the spices, the more flavorful the cider will be.
- Remove the pot from heat, and allow the apple pear cider to cool completely, about 1 ½ hours.
- Pour the apple pear mixture into a fine mesh sieve, and strain. If there are solids in the cider, strain it again.
- Serve the cider warm or cold, and sprinkle ground cinnamon on top if desired.
- Store the cider in a sealed container or jar in the fridge.
**I used 1 Granny Smith apple. 2 Honey Crisps, and 3 D'Anjou Pears
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Mike Hughes (@mj_hughes) says
Sounds like a tasty drink but not technically a cider … that would be fermented and alcoholic.
Andrea | Cooking with a Wallflower says
Ciders in the UK are fermented and alcoholic. In the US, those are called hard ciders. Our apple ciders don’t have alcohol =)