Apple Cider Sangria

 

Though I'm not much of a wine drinker, I'm a huge fan of sangria. Red, white, it doesn't matter. I like it all. So it makes perfect sense that I'm in love with this Apple Cider Sangria too. It would make for a perfect beverage on Thanksgiving, or, you know, on a quiet fall Saturday when you might want a nice cocktail to sip on while taking a bubble bath. I've made it for both of those occasions and can attest that it's a perfect drink for any situation, particularly at this time of year.

The original recipe is from my food blogging idol, who I kind of want to be best friends with, Jessica at How Sweet It Is. I followed her recipe pretty closely, but cut down the number of apples and pears from three each to just two each. The first time I made it, I used three of each kind of fruit and it was way more than I needed. You can see in the photos that there's already a substantial amount of fruit, so I wrote the recipe below with the quantities I now use.

Apple Cider Sangria

Recipe from How Sweet It Is

Ingredients:

1 bottle (750 mL) of pinot grigio (I tried a new kind, Fancy Pants, because I just loved the label so much!)
2 1/2 cups apple cider
1 cup club soda
1/2 cup brandy (use ginger brandy if you can find it; I often can't)
2 apples, chopped (I used Braeburn because they were on sale)

2 pears, chopped

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a large pitcher and stir to mix well. Refrigerate for at least an hour (longer is better) before serving.

Butterbeer

I don't think I've mentioned yet on this blog how much I love Harry Potter. Love the books, love the movies, love everything about the world that JK Rowling created. Love it. And I have been lucky enough to go to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando not once, but twice. And with those trips came lots of butterbeer. They have two versions there - regular and frozen - and they're both delicious. You can even get a souvenir butterbeer mug, which I obviously did, both times I went. It makes drinking it even more fun.

After having butterbeer for the first time, I wanted to recreate it at home and have done so a few times since. If you Google "butterbeer recipe" you're going to get about 179,000 results. The different options have varying degrees of difficulty, some made with from-scratch concoctions of clarified butter, brown sugar, vanilla, etc. But I'm lazy, and when I want butterbeer, I want it NOW. So I take the easy way, and it's seriously delicious. If you're looking for a version that doesn't have artificial ingredients with things in them that you can't pronounce, this is not the recipe for you. But if you want quick and yummy, read on! This has been approved by many of my Harry Potter-fan friends, and my friend's six year old son, too!

Butterbeer
Recipe is for one serving; can be easily multiplied

Ingredients
12 oz. cream soda, chilled
3/4 tsp. imitation butter flavoring, divided
1/2 cup Cool Whip, thawed

Directions
Measure 1/2 tsp. of butter flavoring into your cup. If a few extra drops sneak in, that's ok. Some cream soda brands are stronger than others and you might want a little over 1/2 tsp. in there. Pour your cream soda over the flavoring, stirring very lightly to mix. In a separate small bowl, mix 1/2 cup Cool Whip with remaining 1/4 tsp. butter flavoring, stirring to combine well. Spoon Cool Whip mixture over the top of the soda, and enjoy!

Variations
1. To make a butterbeer float, add a scoop of vanilla ice cream to your cup.
2. For an adult version, add an ounce (or more!) of Captain Morgan Spiced Rum. My friends and I have tried this, and we approve!