Holiday Wassail

This wassail is a jazzed up version of my spiced cider, and it is perfect for any fall or winter holiday! You can leave out the alcohol if you prefer, but it really does add a nice kick. Here are the ingredients you will need:

You will also need two cinnamon sticks, vegan honee, and either brandy or rum, but I forgot to put them in the photo! You can use either apple juice or cider. I really like Aldi’s organic apple juice and you can’t beat their prices.

Add the vegan light brown sugar and the salt to a large soup pot:

Add the lemon juice and the orange juice, then stir to combine:



Place the pot on your burner or induction cooktop. Heat and stir the mixture until the sugar has fully dissolved. Doing this now means you will not have to stir the wassail as often in the next step. (Sugar sitting on the bottom of your pot is very likely to burn.)

Add both the apple juice and cranberry juice cocktail. Mix well to combine:

I keep the empty juice containers and pour my finished wassail in them. Just be sure to let the wassail cool down to lukewarm before pouring it so you don’t get burned.

Cover the pot and bring to a boil over medium-high heat:

It will take 35 to 45 minutes for the wassail to boil. Get your spices ready while you wait. I use a reusable tea bag that I got several years ago at Whole Foods and it works perfectly. You can also use eight layers of cheesecloth, but some of the apple pie spice will leak out.

Combine the apple pie spice, grated ginger, orange zest, and whole cloves in a bowl and mix them together. Doing this helps to keep the apple pie spice in the bag or cheesecloth:

Add the spice mixture to your tea bag and wrap the strings around the top of the bag as shown below. If you are using cheesecloth, fold it into an eight-layer square, place the mixture in the center, gather the edges up to form a bag, and tie them together tightly.

When the juice starts to boil, remove the lid and add the spice bag and cinnamon sticks:

Cover the pot again, reduce the heat, and simmer for one hour:

Turn off the heat and sample your wassail. If the spices are strong enough for your taste, remove the spice bag and cinnamon sticks. If you would like the spices to be stronger, leave them in the pot (with the heat off) for another 15 to 60 minutes.

Add vegan honee and brandy or rum to taste. (I added a half cup of each honee and rum.) Serve hot and enjoy!

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Holiday Wassail

This delicious holiday beverage is a jazzed up spiced cider with rum or brandy added!

Course Beverages

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour 45 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 55 minutes

Servings 16 mugs

Calories 200 kcal

Author Deborah Mesdag

Ingredients

• 2 quarts Apple Juice or Apple Cider
• 2 quarts Cranberry Juice Cocktail
• 480 g (2 c) Orange Juice
• 110 g (1/2 c packed) Vegan Light Brown Sugar
• 30 g (2 TBS) Lemon Juice
• 8.0 g (1 TBS) Grated Ginger
• 7.2 g (1 TBS) Apple Pie Spice
• 4.5 g (1 TBS) Orange Zest
• 1.6 g (1/4 tsp) Salt
• 6 Whole Cloves
• 2 Cinnamon Sticks
• 170 g (1/2 c) Vegan Honee
• 120 g (1/2 c) Brandy or Rum

Instructions

1. Add the vegan light brown sugar, salt, lemon juice, and orange juice to a large soup pot. Stir to combine.

2. Place the pot on your burner or induction cooktop. Heat and stir the mixture until the sugar has fully dissolved. Doing this now means you will not have to stir the wassail as often in the next step. (Sugar sitting on the bottom of your pot is very likely to burn.)

3. Add both the apple juice and cranberry juice cocktail. Mix well to combine. 

4. Cover the pot and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.

5. It will take 35 to 45 minutes for the wassail to boil. Get your spices ready while you wait. I use a reusable tea bag that I got several years ago at Whole Foods and it works perfectly. You can also use eight layers of cheesecloth, but some of the apple pie spice will leak out. Combine the apple pie spice, grated ginger, orange zest, and whole cloves in a bowl and mix them together. (Doing this helps to keep the apple pie spice in the bag or cheesecloth.) Add the spice mixture to your tea bag and wrap the strings around the top of the bag as shown in the blog post. If you are using cheesecloth, fold it into an eight-layer square, place the mixture in the center, gather the edges up to form a bag, and tie them together tightly.

6. When the juice starts to boil, remove the lid and add the spice bag and cinnamon sticks. Cover the pot again, reduce the heat, and simmer for one hour.

7. Turn off the heat and sample your wassail. If the spices are strong enough for your taste, remove the spice bag and cinnamon sticks. If you would like the spices to be stronger, leave them in the pot (with the heat off) for another 15 to 60 minutes.

8. Add vegan honee and brandy or rum to taste. (I added a half cup of each honee and rum.) Serve hot and enjoy!