Nature definitely shows off this time of year! Drinking Apple Cider is always on my Fall Bucket List. Now I’m adding “drink Apple Cider Mimosas” to that list too!

I love making breakfasts special on the weekends. Homemade apple butter and fresh biscuits, real bacon (we usually go for the turkey variety during the week) and all things cinnamon have been making appearances at our Saturday mid-morning table.

This past weekend, we lived it up with fresh Apple Cider Mimosas. Yeah. Nothing screams “fall morning” more than a little apple cider and champagne, with a touch of cinnamon. Your fall brunch won’t be complete until you enjoy it with this cocktail! This would also be the perfect way to round out your Friendsgiving menu!

Now, I did make apple cider from scratch a few days before we had this cider but feel free to use the farm or store-bought variety (apple cider recipe is below). All apple cider is welcome!

The cider I made was really straightforward, nothing fancy here. I made a small batch because there’s only two of us, and the homemade stuff has a tendency to spoil faster. If you have a larger (or thirstier) family, feel free to double the batch.

I also cheat and use a mulling spice mix instead of individual whole nutmeg, cloves, allspice and cinnamon sticks. I find that the mulling spices (which are usually a mixture of whole and crushed versions of the aforementioned spices, as well as a little orange peel) work just as well, and are way more economical for my budget.

You can enjoy this as is, warm in a mug, or continue past the Apple Cider recipe for a simple, classic mimosa (except with apple cider instead of orange juice).

Easy Homemade Apple Cider

Ingredients:

• 6 apples – choose whatever varieties you like, but I do recommend mixing it up. Tart mixed with sweet will give you a more “applely” flavor
• Palmful of mulling spice, or more to your tastes
• Small sprinkle or cinnamon, nutmeg, and/or cloves if you want an additional kick (this can also be added to the individual mugs after it’s made based on your tastes)
• 8 cups of water (liquid will reduce by about half in the cooking process)
• 1/4 cup brown sugar

Instructions:

Cut apples into quarters, leaving skin, stems and seeds intact. Throw apples and mulling spices in a stock pot or dutch oven. Pour water over everything. Bring to boiling, then cover and reduce heat so water is simmering.

Simmer apple mixture for about one hour, or until the apples are “mashable”. Take a potato masher, and roughly mash the apples. You don’t want it to be applesauce, but if you do this after an hour, the apples should remain chunky instead of saucy.

Continue simmering the mixture for about another hour. Strain the mixture through a fine mesh strainer. I take a rubber spatula and press the mixture inside of the strainer. A small amount of super soft applesauce may go through the strainer in the process, but that’s what makes this cider, and not juice 🙂 I’ve never had this greatly thicken the cider, so do what works best for you.

Stir brown or white sugar in (I add in about a 1/4 a cup, but feel free to play with the ratio that suits your taste buds!

This quantity of apple and water usually yields approx 4 cups of cider. Serve warm with additional cinnamon or cinnamon sticks, or chill and make Apple Cider Mimosas!

Apple Cider Mimosas

Ingredients:

• Apple Cider (chilled)
• Champagne (chilled)
• Cinnamon (optional)
• Sugar (optional)

Directions:

You can either make this in individual glasses (which is what we prefer) or make a big batch if you’re having a party. Either way, you make the proportions the same way. Fill your glass halfway with champagne, then pour in an equal amount of apple cider. Just eyeball this!

If you want to be fancy (and trust me, you do!), rim your glasses with cinnamon sugar before filling them. Take two shallow dishes/plates and fill one with a little water or apple cider. Then mix together your cinnamon sugar. Use the proportion you like. I did a big spoonful of sugar and about half that amount of cinnamon. Place in the other shallow dish. Dip the rims of your glasses in the liquid, then into the cinnamon sugar to rim the glasses.

Enjoy your fall morning (afternoon, evening) 🙂

Have you ever had an Apple Cider Mimosa? Have you ever made Apple Cider from scratch? Let me know your favorite fall drink or cocktail below!

Stay Dairing.