I love warm winter drinks. I love tea. I can drink hot herbal tea any time of the year. When fall starts, different drinks take priority. A few months ago I was in Alaska and the cooler temperatures were ahead of Utah. I enjoyed a good hot cup of cocoa and I knew the fall season would quickly be upon us. Upon returning to Utah, I knew that I wanted to blog about some of my favorite fall and holiday drinks. I find that I will fill my thermos when I am on the road or enjoy a mug curled up with a good book or a holiday movie with cocoa or steamer. These drinks have the perfect aroma that fills the house with the perfect holiday smells and creates the feeling of Christmas. This is a perfect week with the colder weather to enjoy these flavors.  All of these drinks can be created to be vegan.

The first is a Christmas wassail. This wassail has such a delicious blend of juices and fresh cranberries. When the cranberries are cooked with juices, they become sweet and pop in your mouth. I used small vintage luncheon glass cups for this drink. The color shows through and is just as pretty as it is tasty. This wassail is wonderful paired with a slice of hot fruitcake bread from a previous post or a darling spritz cookie that is a family favorite. I made this wassail in the crockpot, which created a wonderful smell throughout the house, and can be used the day it is made or the next. I found that this time I made the wassail, I enjoyed it for a few days. It is easy to heat up and it tastes great.

Slow Cooker Holiday Wassail

• 1 quart apple juice
• 1 quart orange juice
• 2 cups cranberry juice
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 orange, thinly sliced
• 2 cups fresh cranberries
• 3-4 cinnamon sticks
• 2 teaspoons whole cloves

Instructions:

1. Place everything into a large slow cooker and gently stir to mix.
2. Cook on low for 4-6 hours before serving or cook overnight and keep it on warm until ready to serve.

Recipe courtesy of My name is Snickerdoodle blog

**********

I love a good hot chocolate. Make sure you check out previous blog posts on hot chocolates around the world. This hot chocolate is one of my favorites. It is made with cocoa instead of chocolate. I originally tried this recipe to make for one of my daughters that is vegan. It is so good, I served it for dessert at Thanksgiving with pie. The flavor is so creamy. I enjoy this flavor of hot cocoa starting early in the fall with the changing of the fall colors, carving pumpkins, and through the cold winter months of January and February. I find that I watch for the sales at the grocery store and stock up on packed pumpkins throughout the year.

Vegan Pumpkin Hot Cocoa

• 2 cups unsweetened vanilla almond or coconut almond milk
• 1/3 cup canned pumpkin
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (I like to use Dutch-process for this recipe. It makes the flavor smooth and creamy)
• 4 tablespoons real maple syrup
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• Dash of fresh ground nutmeg
• Dash of ground cloves
• Coconut whipped cream

Instructions:

1. In a small saucepan over medium heat, whisk together milk, pumpkin, cocoa powder, maple syrup, and spices. Bring to a boil and continue stirring to ensure everything is well combined. Reduce heat to low and allow to simmer for about 5 minutes.
2. Remove from heat and transfer to mugs. Top with vegan whipped cream or your favorite hot chocolate toppings.

Recipe courtesy of [email protected] with Spoons

**********

Steamed and Frothed Milk

One of my go-to drinks is a milk steamer. What exactly is a steamer? Is this just a hot cup of milk? Not exactly. Milk is steamed in order to heat it up. When milk is heated up the fats inside the milk enlarge. Frothing can be confused with steaming. Frothing adds air to the milk. Frothed milk is added to the top of a steamer along with whipped cream. Can you make a steamed and frothed milk at home without fancy equipment?  Yes, read on…

This is how to make a cup of steamed milk at home via a pot on the stove… Place your milk (regular, almond, or soy) on a pot on the stove. Heat it up to the desired temperature. Once done, whip out your kitchen whisk, usually used for beating eggs or fresh cream, and get to work. Beat the milk for roughly 30 seconds. You will start to see a puffy portion on top of the milk. This is the frothed portion. Hold the froth to the side of the pan and pour the hot steamed, whisked milk into a mug. Add flavors. Top your steamed milk off with the froth portion from the pot. You can also top the frothed milk with whipped cream or whipped coconut cream. Finish this cup of deliciousness with freshly grated nutmeg.

I love to add flavors that turn the milk from a cup of steamed milk into a steaming cup of deliciousness. Kitchen Kneads has a huge variety of Torani Syrups to create your favorite flavor to sit and watch the snowfall, enjoy the fire or just any activity that a warm drink enhances. Kitchen Kneads also has a battery-operated frother that makes a steamer with frothed milk even easier to create at home. Stop by the store and pick up your favorite syrup or try a new flavor and pick up a frother so that you can enjoy a steamer this holiday season and throughout the winter season. Have a wonderful holiday week as you try one or all of these warm winter drinks.

Instructions courtesy of friedcoffee.com

Hot Buttered Rum is something I’ve always thought sounded good. I love the non-fruity, non-chocolatey flavors like rum, carmel, butter pecan, hazelnut…I don’t know how to categorize that type of flavor, but they’re my favorite. I don’t drink alcohol, so when I get rum flavored things the flavor comes by way of extracts and flavoring oils.

While I can’t compare my non-alcoholic version of hot buttered rum to the real thing, I think it’s pretty darn good. If you’re looking for something kid friendly or if you’re like me and you don’t drink, this recipe’s a good one. It’s a nice change from all the hot cocoa and spiced ciders that are typical this time of year.

So… what DID I use to get the rum flavor? It’s not extract, although that’s what I originally was going to use. But I was talking to my mom about it and she suggested using Torani syrup. I LOVE Torani syrups! I use them for so many things. How could I have not thought to use one? They have a butter rum flavor, so that’s what I used. I know it’s not straight rum flavor, but it’s what they have and I really think it turned out super good.

Also, if you’re local, stop into our store and look at our Torani syrups. We have the largest selection around. And they’re seriously good in so many things. Here’s a few links to some of my other posts I’ve used these syrups in:

Caramel Apple Cider
Strawberries and Cream Cheesecake
Fruity Citrus Punch
Irish Creme Brulee
Dirty Diet Coke
Raspberry Cheesecake Trifles
Irish Cream Brownies

Non-Alcoholic Hot Buttered Rum

For the Butter:

• 1/2 cup salted butter, room temperature
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
• Pinch ground cloves

For the Drinks:

• 2 tablespoons butter mixture
• 1 tablespoon heavy cream
• 3 tablespoons Torani Butter Rum Syrup
• 1 cup boiling water

Instructions:

1. In a medium bowl, cream butter, brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves. Combine thoroughly.
2. To make the drink, place 2 tablespoons butter mixture in an 8- 10 ounce mug.
3. Add heavy cream and Torani Butter Rum syrup.
4. Fill mug with boiling water. Stir to melt butter.
5. Enjoy!

Note: If you don’t want to use up all of the butter mixture at once, you can roll it into a log in some plastic wrap and store it in the fridge until you’re ready to use it.