Festive Holiday Wassail Recipe

There are certain things that need to happen in our house to usher in the holiday season: home made Chex mix, Christmas lights on the house and the smell of wassail on the stove.  Also munching my mom's fudge.  It's so soft and scrumptious; I could eat it for days.  😍

Every holiday season, one thing I could count on was my Mom would be making a pot of wassail.  Having wassail at the holidays is a sort of unofficial tradition in our family.  We drink it on Christmas morning while looking through the gifts we've exchanged with a cookie or stack of fudge.  Wassail is seriously one of my favorite things to drink.  It warms you to the soul from your head to your toes on those cold wintry days.  For me, wassail is a comfort drink.

I started making wassail for parties that we would host and much to my surprise a good number of our friends had never before tried wassail or even knew what it was!  I found myself explaining that  wassail is a mulled cider but really, in my eyes, it's so much more than that.  It's the smell and taste of Christmas!  

Our recipe contains all the elements of a traditional wassail plus something that gives it that extra something special!  😍 I hope that you'll make some for your next gathering of friends and family and it becomes part of your holiday traditions too.  It's a guaranteed hit liked by kids and grownups alike!  This is also a great recipe to make with your littles if you have ones that love being in the kitchen.  

Ingredients 

1 64 oz bottle of apple juice

4 cups of pineapple juice {we always use the Dole canned juice}

4 cups of orange juice

2 Tbsps lemon juice

1 cup of brown sugar

8 cloves

3 cinnamon sticks

4 or 5 shakes of nutmeg

Handful of red hots

Directions

Combine all ingredients into a large pot on the stove.  Simmer for 20-30 mins.  Do not boil!  You don't want to scald your tastebuds! 😂

Pro Tips

• Wrap the cloves and cinnamon sticks together in cheese cloth before adding to the pot.  This makes it easier to fish out before serving!
• Garnish with cranberries, orange slices and cinnamon sticks
• Don't want to heat it all up at once?  No worries! Mix all the ingredients and then store wassail in a pitcher in the fridge.  Heat up on the stove top or in a microwavable mug for a cup or two at a time.  

Serve with your favorite dessert, with some Chex mix while watching your favorite Christmas movie or enjoy with a good book and your favorite blanket!