Martha Mondays: Warm Vanilla Cider

It’s Martha Monday again and this week’s choice was Warm Vanilla Cider, from October Martha Stewart Living, chosen by Teresa at HomemadeIowaLife.

I have to admit, this is something I never would have made were it not chosen for today’s project. This is really a dessert drink more than anything else.

I cheated a little with this recipe, so please forgive me. You heat cider (6 c) with brown sugar (1/2 c) and 2 whole nutmegs (I used ground nutmeg) and the scraped seeds from a vanilla bean (I used vanilla extract). You simmer for 15 min. You serve it with whipped cream (I made my own – points for me) and honeyed walnuts. I made honeyed pecans instead (very simple – toss them with honey and roast for 15 min – I actually stuck mine in the microwave, which was faster as long as you keep an eye on it so it doesn’t burn).

Honestly, I didn’t think I was going to like this, but it turns out I did! It was sweet and creamy and the nuts are to die for. This is something you could make on a cold winter afternoon to enjoy in front of the fire, or for after skiing (I didn’t say “apres ski” since I always find that to sound so pretentious!).

Here’s the funny thing though. Mr. MarthaAndMe, who LOVES vanilla and also really likes cider, did not like this. He didn’t even finish it. He’s weird about hot drinks and says he could not drink it because in his mind cider is not supposed to be hot (this is the same man who cannot fathom cold soups, so I suppose it is not surprising). Teen Martha liked this though. This was something fun and different and I enjoyed it!