Wassail (Hot Spiced Cider) - cooking recipe

Ingredients

2 quarts apple cider
1 quart 100% cranberry juice cocktail
2 cinnamon sticks
1 teaspoon whole cloves
1 orange, sliced into 1/4-inch slices
1 cup brown sugar

Preparation

Place cloves and cinnamon sticks into a cheese cloth and tie with twist tie. (A coffee filter also works well).
Mix liquids and brown sugar in a crockpot or in a large kettle. Float the sac with spices in crockpot or kettle. Place sliced oranges on top of wassail.
Heat on high (crockpot) or medium heat (stovetop)to desired temperature (would not recommend boiling) and then keep warm on low in the crockpot or on the stovetop. Wassail will have more flavor if it is kept at higher temperature for 1-2 hours before serving.
To reduce bitterness, the orange slices should be removed from crockpot or kettle after several hours.