What is better than a clear, chilly fall day and a delicious mug of hot apple cider? A favorite fall past time of mine is a yearly trip to the apple orchard. Generally, those apples become apple pie, apple squares, etc. Recently, I discovered a simple way to make apple cider at home that tastes fresh from the farm. This recipe is so simple and your house is going to smell AMAZING!

What you'll need:

- 12 Apples (various types)

- 1 Orange

- 4 Cinnamon Sticks (or 2 Tablespoons ground cinnamon)

- 1 Teaspoon Ground Cloves

- 1/2 Cup Sugar

- 1 Teaspoon Vanilla

- Water

Tools:

- Knife

- Crock Pot

- Cheesecloth

- Potato Masher

Instructions

1. Cut each apple into fourths, peel your orange and cut the same way, and toss into your slow cooker. Don't worry about seeds or stems in your cider, you'll strain all of that out later. Throw it all in!

2. Next, add your flavoring; the cinnamon, ground cloves, vanilla, and sugar. Each of these measurements can be changed according to your taste. It's really hard to mess this up.

3. Fill the rest of the slow cooker with water, all of your apples should be bobbing to the top. That's all your prep!

4. Now, cover the slow cooker and turn it on to high for three hours, or if you're on the go, low for six hours. After this amount of time the apples should be nice and soft, and your kitchen fragrant. Crush the apples with the potato masher.

5. Leave to cook for another couple hours on low.

6. Finally! Use the cheesecloth to strain the cider into a pitcher. Serve very hot and refrigerate the extra.

Enjoy your fall treat!