Ahhh. Now it’s the holidays. 

About This Recipe

This recipe for glühwein is super easy to make. And with its head-to-toe warming factor, this hot spiced wine is perfect for solstice walks. It’s perfect for snowflake-specked nights around the bonfire. It’s perfect for sitting in front of a crackling fireplace with a good book. Basically it’s perfect for all things winter.

What is Glühwein?

Glühwein is mulled – or spiced – wine, traditionally served up at Christmas markets in Germany.

It’s simply gently warmed red wine, simmered with warm winter spices like cinnamon and cloves. Then it’s sweetened with sugar, balanced with a bit of citrus, and – if you’re me – boozed up a bit more with a slug of brandy.

There are many names and variations served at Christmas markets all across Europe. Glogg, wassail, mulled wine, hot wine … or, of course, Glühwein – which literally translates to “glow wine.” Makes sense to me! (Where I learned that and more about the history of Glühwein can be found here.) 

In our house back here in the U.S., we call it Glühwein because the first time we tried mulled wine, it was a Glühwein. And … it was in a German theme town in our state, right here in the U.S. (Hangs head in shame.) 

I know, I know. I wish we had an incredible story about a decades-ago wintertime stroll at an actual European Christmas Market. And that’s definitely a life goal. 

Instead, our mulled-wine story took place several years ago on a frosty evening as we strolled the shops of Leavenworth, Washington. We ducked into a wine tasting shop and came out with our mittens wrapped around a warm mug of steaming, intoxicating goodness that warmed us from our noses to our toes.

And we’ve been recreating and refining our own Glühwein recipe back at home ever since. We love it, our guests love it, and I hope you don’t mind me sharing our recipe with you even though our experience – and recipe – might not be the most authentic you’ll find.

What are the Best Mulled Wine Spices for Glühwein?

For the best and easiest Glühwein, I take a cue from my Hot Spiced Cider recipe by 1) keeping it simple and 2) starting with a clove-studded orange.

I’ve tried many mulled wine spices in my mulled drinks and have found that a ton of spices is really not necessary – more does not equal merrier! In my opinion, the best mulled wine spices are simply a combination of:

• Cloves (whole, stuck in an orange)
• Cinnamon sticks
• This is not a spice, but for my Glühwein, I love to add some lemon peel too for extra citrussy brightness.

For the cloves and orange combo, not only is it super festive looking, but poking the cloves into the peel of a whole orange helps release the oils in the skin of the orange, adding flavor without bitterness. Plus, it helps contain the cloves so you don’t have to worry about picking a loose one out when you serve your Gluhwein. 

How to Make Glühwein (Hot Spiced Wine)

I add the orange to a medium saucepan over low heat. Then, I add some whole cinnamon sticks and a bottle of light-ish red wine. A low-to-mid-level pinot noir is always a winner for us. Next, stir in some sugar – plain old granulated is a good bet, though some might try honey or brown sugar. I like to keep the sweetener simple in Glühwein so the wine, citrus, and spice flavors really shine through. Oh, and throw in some lemon peels for good measure for a bit more citrus zest. Pun intended. 

Then I bring my spiced wine to just below a simmer and let it mingle with the citrus and spices for about 20 minutes. Then add brandy for some more warming magic. Brandy is such a perfect companion for mulled cocktails that I add it to almost every single one I make. 

So now that it’s obvious that you need Glühwein in your life, here’s the full, printable recipe. Cheers to a happy and cozy winter!

More Warming Winter Drinks

• Warm Vanilla Cinnamon Bailey’s Drink – so cozy!
• Hot Spiced Cider
• Slow Cooker Cranberry Orange Mulled Wine

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Glühwein (Hot Spiced Red Wine)

A winter cocktail sure to warm you from your head to your toes. Red wine is warmed with spices and citrus, then amped up with a bit of brandy for the coziest holiday drink.

Servings 4 servings

Calories 266kcal

Author Kare

Ingredients

• 1 each medium organic orange
• 20 each whole cloves give or take a few cloves – no need to be exact
• 750 ml light red wine 1 bottle, on the drier/lighter side is better. We love Pinot Noir, Lemburger or Merlot can also work
• 3 each (3-inch) cinnamon sticks
• 5 each strips lemon peel about 2 inches long each, just use a carrot peeler and try to avoid including too much pith
• 1/4 cup sugar start with 1/4 cup and add to taste up to 2/3 cup
• 1/3 cup brandy

Optional garnish

• Cinnamon sticks
• Orange slices

Instructions

• Using a toothpick, poke 20 holes all over your orange, then poke the cloves into the holes. 
• Add orange to a medium saucepan. Pour the wine into the pan. Add the cinnamon sticks, lemon peel, and 1/3 cup sugar. Stir gently to help dissolve the sugar.
• Turn the heat on medium-low and heat until just below a simmer. Do not boil! Reduce heat to low – just enough to keep warm but again, not simmering or boiling. Cover and let warm over the heat for about 20 minutes, until hot wine is flavored by the spices.
• Stir in the brandy. Taste and add more sugar if desired. Depending on your wine and tastes, you may only need the intial 1/4 cup of sugar, or you may need the entire 2/3 cup.
• Ladle into three large or four smaller mugs, garnish if desired, pass 'em out and and inhale your Glühwein goodness.

Nutrition

Calories: 266kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 24mg | Potassium: 237mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 14g | Calcium: 54mg | Iron: 1mg

The post Gluhwein (Hot Spiced Red Wine) appeared first on Kitchen Treaty.

With notes of cinnamon, cloves, and orange, this cozy spiced hot apple cider is perfect for sipping all fall and winter long. You can make it in the Crock Pot for hot apple cider that’s ready whenever you are, or brew up a batch fast on the stovetop. I’ll show you how to make hot apple cider both ways!

Table of Contents

• The Story Behind the Recipe
• Why You’ll Love Hot Apple Cider
• Ingredients
• Adaptations/Variations
• How to Make Your Clove Orange for Cider
• How to Make Hot Spiced Cider
  • Crock Pot Spiced Cider
  • Stovetop Hot Apple Cider
• Tips for Success
• Make-Ahead Notes
• More Cozy Fall & Winter Drinks

• Jump to the Full, Printable Recipe
• Read Comments & Reviews

The Story Behind the Recipe

I’ve been making this hot apple cider recipe for decades. Seriously. If I recall correctly, my sister first started making it something like 30 years ago, and it quickly became a fall and winter staple for me, too.

There’s just something about having a warm batch of spiced cider steaming away on the stovetop or brewing up in the slow cooker. It makes the entire house smell amazing!

Why You’ll Love Hot Apple Cider

Not only is this mulled apple cider recipe seriously easy, it’s also quintessentially autumn and winter. It looks cozy. It tastes cozy. It IS cozy!

This mulled cider, with all its wonderful spices, makes the entire house smell like a palace of coziness. (That can be a thing, right?)

It warms you up after an hour or two of kicking around in the fall leaves or picking out that perfect pumpkin or trick-or-treating on a perfectly frosty night when you can see your breath.

And then, basically all of December is spiced apple cider season. What’s better than loading up a travel mug with spiced cider and heading out to find your Christmas tree? The smell of frosty pine + the aroma of hot spiced cider.

I LOVE this time of year!

Ingredients

This spiced cider is special because it takes only four whole ingredients – no special mulling spices required. We’ve got:

• Apple cider – can’t have spiced apple cider without that!
• Cinnamon sticks – because apple cider and cinnamon are BFFs.
• An orange – yep, it’s true! Trust me.
• Whole cloves – you stick them in the orange and float it in the cider.

Adaptations/Variations

• Spiked Hot Apple Cider: For a boozy hot spiced cider, add a splash of rum, bourbon, or brandy. I’m partial to rum. But please wait until AFTER you heat your cider before adding or most of your spirits will evaporate. I like to add any alcohol to the mugs when serving.
• Spiced Pear Cider: Swap out some or all of the apple cider for pear cider.

How to Make Your Clove Orange for Cider

My favorite part about this spiced apple cider recipe is, in fact, the clove-studded orange. It just looks so festive, and the tiny amount of orange juice that comes out, the oils from the peel, and the cloves impart the most wonderful, heady flavors – both into your cider and wafting about your home.

I used to just stick the cloves directly into the orange, but would break off every other clove and they’d crumble … super frustrating. I get around this by first poking the orange with a toothpick, then inserting the cloves.

To make your clove orange, just poke your orange all over, then insert the cloves, and plop it in with the other ingredients.

How to Make Hot Spiced Cider

I make mine one of two ways: Crock Pot or stovetop. The slow cooker method is great, because it’s so easy to just pour everything in, walk away, and come back in four hours to mulled cider goodness. Plus, you can just switch it over to the “warm” setting and have hot apple cider on the ready all glorious evening long. Perfect for when you have company over, when you’re busy decorating the Christmas tree, or you just want a steady stream of goodness at the ready.

On the other hand, it’s handy to know you can whip some hot apple cider up on the stovetop whenever you have a craving and haven’t had the chance to plan ahead. So I’m showing you how to make it both ways!

Crock Pot Spiced Cider

1. Add your clove-studded orange to your slow cooker along with a few cinnamon sticks and apple cider.
2. Turn it on.
3. Wait four hours.

You have Hot Apple Cider! The mulled cider of your dreams. A wassail wonderland. (And your house smells wonderful, too.)

Stovetop Hot Apple Cider

1. Add the clove-studded orange to a large pot set over low heat, along with a few cinnamon sticks and the apple cider.
2. Cover and keep the cider just below a simmer for about 30 minutes
3. Enjoy!

Tips for Success

• Don’t slice your orange! Keep it whole and poke your cloves into it. I’ve found that sliced orange in mulled cider can often lead to an unpleasant bitter taste because of the exposed pith. Instead, this hot apple cider recipe calls for poking cloves directly into the orange. It helps keep the cloves contained so you don’t have to fish them out later, it helps release the oils from the orange peel without exposing the pith, and it looks festive!
• Don’t let it boil! Depending on the type of apple cider you buy, the solids in the cider can cause the solids to cook and separate. Keep it at just below a simmer for best results.

Make-Ahead Notes

If you want to make hot apple cider beforehand then reheat when I want to serve it, you totally can!Yes, absolutely. When we do this, we either just cover the cooled Slow Cooker crock with plastic wrap and place it in the fridge or we will even pour the cooled cider back into the cider bottle to store it.

Then just reheat it gently in the Crock Pot or over the stove.

More Cozy Fall & Winter Drinks

• For a straight-up spiked situation, you can’t go wrong with Glühwein, a festive hot spiced wine with red wine, brandy, the classic clove-studded orange, and cinnamon.
• Slow Cooker Cranberry Orange Mulled Wine is so cozy and comforting. Hygge to the max!
• I love how these Slow Cooker Gingerbread Pumpkin Lattes bridge the gap between fall and Christmastime. Perfect for a crowd!
• Rosemary lends a welcome herbal note while cranberries color this  Rosemary-Cranberry Mulled Cider the most gorgeous shade of pink.
• If you like your warm winter drinks caffeinated and cocktail-esque, this Amaretto Coffee should hit the spot!

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Mulled Hot Apple Cider Recipe (4 Ingredients!)

With just four ingredients – okay, five if you spike it with your favorite rum – this hot spiced apple cider recipe couldn't be any easier to make. It's the perfect excuse to get out there and rake the leaves. Crock Pot AND stovetop instructions!

Course beverages

Cuisine American

Keyword crockpot hot cider, hot apple cider, hot cider, hot spiced cider, mulled cider, slow cooker hot apple cider

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 4 hours hours

Total Time 4 hours hours 10 minutes minutes

Servings 8

Calories 125kcal

Author Kare

Ingredients

• 2 quarts apple cider 64 ounces or 8 cups
• 6 cinnamon sticks I use 3-inch sticks, but you can use longer ones + more for serving
• 1 orange medium; I prefer naval oranges and I tend to go with organic
• 2 tablespoons whole cloves

Instructions

Make Your Clove-Studded Orange

• With a toothpick, poke holes all around the orange, about 1/2 inch to 1 inch apart. Carefully poke the cloves into the toothpick holes in the orange. Set aside.

Hot Apple Cider in the Crock Pot

• Pour apple cider into a 2.5-quart or larger Crock Pot or other slow cooker. Add cinnamon sticks and your clove-studded orange.
• Cook on low until hot and fragrant, about 4 hours.

Hot Apple Cider on the Stovetop

• Place a 3-quart or larger pot on the stove. Add apple cider, cinnamon sticks, and your clove-studded orange.
• Cover and cook over low heat, keeping the cider just below a simmer (boiling your cider can cause the solids to cook and separate). Heat gently until spiced through, warm, and fragrant, about 30 minutes.

Serve!

• Ladle into mugs along with an ounce or so of rum if using. Place a cinnamon stick in each glass if desired and serve.
• If you and yours aren't drinking it all at once, you can keep your hot spiced cider warm by flipping your slow cooker setting to low or keeping your pot on the very lowest setting on your stovetop.

Notes

Doubling the recipe

Doubling or tripling notes: No need to add more than one orange! I’d would add a few more cloves to the orange for oomph though.

Make-ahead notes

To make hot apple cider beforehand then reheat when ready to serve, just cover the cooled Slow Cooker crock with plastic wrap and place it in the fridge. Pull it out and rewarm when ready to serve. We will even pour the cooled cider back into the cider bottle to store it. It keeps for 3-4 days. 

Adding spirits

To spike your cider, add a splash of rum or brandy are AFTER you heat your cider – or most of your spirits will evaporate. I like to add any alcohol directly to the mugs when serving.

Nutrition

Serving: 1cup | Calories: 125kcal | Carbohydrates: 31g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 12mg | Potassium: 288mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 24g | Vitamin A: 45IU | Vitamin C: 11mg | Calcium: 57mg | Iron: 1mg

The post Mulled Hot Apple Cider Recipe (4 Ingredients!) appeared first on Kitchen Treaty.