On this longest night of the year, as we await the return of the light, I offer you my yuletide gift: a Wassail recipe and a blessing to you for a loving family and faithful friends to share it with, robust health, and good fortune.
Ingredients: 4 apples, 1 cup sugar, 1 orange, 13 whole cloves, 2 quarts hard apple cider, a half cup of brandy or to your taste, 1 tablespoon ground ginger, 1 teaspoon grated nutmeg, 6 allspice berries, 2 cinnamon sticks, toast for soaking in the Wassail.
Core the apples and fill each with a tablespoon of sugar. Insert 13 cloves in an orange. Place the apples and orange on a baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Meanwhile, pour cider and brandy into a heavy pot and warm over low heat. Stir in ginger and nutmeg. Make a bundled sachet of the allspice and cinnamon sticks and float it in the liquid as it warms. Serve from the pot or transfer to a punch bowl. Add the cooked fruit. Serve in mugs with a triangle of toast on top if you wish to preserve the tradition.
We would make wassail or glug on the stove for holiday parties.
Yum! Yes, it’s best in the cold winter when you have family and friends over. We made it in a tall soup stock pot.
Mmm! I’m going to have to try this. I have Wassailing coming up in a Mythical Monday post. I can’t say I’ve ever had Wassail myself, but I’d definitely love to try it on a cold winter night!
Ooh, I’m looking forward to your post. Yes, a cold winter night with family and friends is when it’s so good. I make it in a tall soup pot.
Glug or wassail, both are a favorite at my house.
Sounds good, especially for a cold winter evening! What kind of wine do you use for the glug?