〈 swipe for more photos 〉
My sister in law gave a jar full of an amazing Hot Apple Cider Spice Mix for Christmas one year. I loved it so much I hardly dared to use any of it because I was scared I’d run out of it too fast. But of course it eventually happened and I had to recreate it in my kitchen, so it turned into this recipe which is so easy to make with just a few ingredients.
What’s to love
- Simple, thoughtful gift: Homemade Hot Apple Cider Spice Mix recipe with a sweet printable gift label – the perfect easy DIY Christmas gift.
- Perfectly spiced: Just enough spice for warmth without overpowering your drink.
- Versatile: Use it in hot apple juice, apple cider, mulled wine or even to roll your snickerdoodles in!
This makes for the perfect DIY Christmas food gift! I like to gift it with a bottle of nice apple juice (or red wine) that people can stir this into. It’s always very well received.
Printable recipe
Ingredients
- 4 cups sugar
- 4 tablespoons ground cinnamon
- ½ tablespoon ground nutmeg
- ½ tablespoon ground cloves
Tips
Instructions
- Prep:I used 8-oz jars for the images, but you can use 4-oz jars just as well if it's for a small present, or if you're making a large amount (eg as party favors).Get your ingredients and your preferred jars ready.
- Mix all ingredients in a large bowl – I use a whisk to get the spices evenly distributed.4 cups sugar, 4 tablespoons ground cinnamon, ½ tablespoon ground nutmeg, ½ tablespoon ground cloves
- Fill the mix into individual jars, or store in a large airtight container if you're making a big batch for an event.
- Use about 1 tablespoon per quart of liquid. Less sweet liquids (like wine or cranberry juice) can use a little more.
Hot Apple Cider Cinnamon Spice Mix
make your kitchen smell like home?Apple cider spice mix questions, answered
I like to gift this in ~8oz jars, but 4oz jars work as well for a smaller gift.
Any jar with a tight-fitting lid works. Ball jars, Weck jars, an old clean jam jar!
To use in a drink, stir about 1 tablespoon into a quart of warm/hot liquid. You can add more for a sweeter, more spiced drink; or use less for just a hint of sweetness and spice.
You can also use it in any recipe that calls for cinnamon sugar, to add a little extra spice kick!
Store it well closed in a dry cupboard. Make sure you don’t introduce liquid or humidity into the jar. As long as your ingredients don’t expire earlier, it keeps well for about a year before the spices start losing their flavor.
Perfect to serve with
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Kirsten says
Hi there! If I would rather mix it with just 1 cup instead of a full quart, would you recommend trying 1 teaspoon per 1 cup and add to taste or start smaller? I’m going to make these as teacher gifts and would like to offer mixing options. Thank you!
Nora says
1 teaspoon per cup is a great starting point, Kirsten!
Carrie says
What type of red wine do you suggest using with this?
Nora says
Zinfandel is great, Merlot as well. Hope this helps, Carrie!
SUE TURNER says
We are diabetic and use Splenda. No problem substituting the sugar?
Nora says
If you use your specific Splenda to regularly sweeten drinks, then I’m sure it will be just fine!
Karen says
An you pls tell
Me how many 4 oz jars one recipe would
Fill. We are making g this recipe for weddi g favors! Thank you
Nora says
Karen, it’s right there in the recipe: 4 8-oz jars OR 8 4-oz jars. So, one recipe fills about eight 4-oz jars.
Pat Shuman says
We made these for our neighbors as Christmas gifts. We had to try it before we handed them out, of course. We love it! I’m sure our neighbors will enjoy this yummy mix too.
Monique says
Don’t quite understand recipe….can it be mixed with water or just juices & wine?
Nora says
Just juices and wine, Monique. Hope this helps!
Pam Cupples says
Oh my goodness…this is delicious! I added mix to apple juice.
Gma B says
Made this for Thanksgiving gathering. I made it in a coffee urn and it was wonderful! The flavor was perfect, not too sweet and light enough it was a hit! Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Kristi says
This sounds like a wonderful gift to give this holiday season. I need to print the tag using the quart measurement, however, it won’t let me download that one. Any suggestions?
Nora says
Kristi, I don’t know why this isn’t working! Would you mind trying this link again: https://www.savorynothings.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Hot-Apple-Cider-Cinnamon-Spice-Mix-Printable-9.pdf and let me know if you can download them. Otherwise I’d be happy to send them to you in an eMail.
Kristi says
Thank you, Nora! The link you sent me worked ?
Summer says
I mixed brown and white sugar 1:1 and I ended up needing 5 tablespoons for a quart of water, so I don’t recommend doing that, lol. However, I did end up adding allspice because it just wasn’t giving that cider flavor I was wanting. I may try with cinnamon sticks instead. But I will definitely be giving as gifts! I’m going to try it with some different sugar substitutes for my family whom have dietary restrictions and I’m very excited for this. Thank you!
Pam says
I’ve given this as gifts with great success! Everyone loves it! I’ve been told it’s amazing in hot toddies and as an extra ingredient in sugar cookies, too! Thank you for sharing it!
Britt says
Using this recipe for fall wedding favors! Bought the 4oz jars because we need about 60 favors.
Question: where did you get/how to make the labels you have on your jars??
Nora says
Britt, you can find the download link in the post! I just printed them on paper and glued them to the jars. Hope that helps!
Beth says
A cookie recipe called for instant cider packets (which I did not have!) and my searching landed me here. I made a smaller batch (1/4) and it worked out great! I plan to use it as a drink mix this fall! Thank you for posting this! 🙂
Tamara says
I make this recipe, but substitute 1 cup of Tang for one of the cups of sugar. Its more of a wassail (I’m sure I spelled that wrong!). Still serve it warm in apple cider with some whole cloves and cinnamon sticks floating in it. So delicious!
Stacey Bonaroti says
Hi Nora,
Just a quick question, do the labels fit a 4 0z jar? I’m thinking about making these for my daughters fall baby shower?
Thank you,
Stacey
Nora says
Stacey, so sorry for my late reply! I think it would be worth a try! You may need to print them a little smaller to make them fit, but I’m fairly positive it should work. Let me know if you need any help!
Alisia says
What kind of sugar? White or brown?
Nora Rusev says
I used white because it dissolves a little more easily, but you can do a mix, or use all brown. Whatever you prefer!
GB says
can’t download labels.. any trick to it?
Nora Rusev says
It was working for me, but just to be on the safe side I changed the download link. Would you mind trying again?
N says
What are the proportions??
Nora Rusev says
I’m going to update this post in a minute, but I start with 1 tablespoon of mix per quart of liquid and then see if it needs more (eg mulled wine tends to need a little more, something naturally sweet like apple juice is usually fine with 1 tablespoon).
Nicki fletcher says
I’ve made this today as Christmas presents how many teaspoon ?do I put on label for putting in with Apple juice
Nora Rusev says
Nicky, did you see the printable label in the post? It’s 1 tablespoon per quart (or liter if you’re in a country with the metric system). Hope that helps!
Dianna says
Nora, I am looking at this recipe and thinking this may be good lightly sprinkled on sweet breads or muffins. Have you tried this?
I see you made this with apple juice, have you made it with real cider?
I am thinking I need to try this with wine. This looks tasty for mulled wine.
Nora says
Dianna, I think sprinkling on muffins or breads would be lovely! I have tried it with actual farm-fresh cider, and it’s delicious ☺️ Hope you’ll give it a try!
Maria says
Hi, would love to make this and also print your labels, but we don’t use quarts, I saw somewhere you wrote it’s a liter? Do you have labels I can edit, so it’s in liters, or would you be able to edit them so I can print those? It’s such a cute gift!
Nora Rusev says
Hi Maria, I couldn’t find my original files anymore (I first shared the printable back in 2014!), but I edited the download as well as I could and added the liter in place of the quart. You can download it here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/kmwupc2gqicimh5/Hot-Apple-Cider-Cinnamon-Spice-Mix-Printable-Metric.pdf?dl=0 Hope that helps! Let me know if you need anything else 🙂
Maria says
That’s awesome! Thank you so much
Nora Rusev says
Of course! Hope you’re having a wonderful holiday season.
Alison says
Hi, your recipe says 1 tablespoon per quart. Is this Quarter of a litre of juice? Thank you
Nora Rusev says
Hi Alison, no it’s one US quart. That’s about 1 liter. Hope that helps!
Gina says
Love this idea! How many jars does the recipe make? (And what size jars did you use?)
Nora Rusev says
Gina, it makes four 8-oz jars OR 8 4-oz jars. I did 8-oz jars in the photos, but for small gifts I’d probably do the 4-oz ones 🙂
Crystal says
It doesn’tsay how much to use this would be helpful.
Nora Rusev says
I start with 1 tablespoon per quart, and then adjust from there depending on how sweet I want it 🙂
Kimberly Rostad says
This is a great recipe. Making it to give to my kids’ teachers this Christmas.
Nora Rusev says
That is such a sweet gesture, Kimberly. I hope your kids’ teachers will enjoy their little treat!
Sandra says
This is awesome! And so easy. Glad I found the s recipe!