I find that hot mulled apple cider is a great alternative to alcoholic beverages at a holiday party. It also adds a delectable aroma to the air. It’s no fuss and definitely irresistible. I’ve provided two options – traditional stovetop and Instant Pot or slow cooker. I prefer unsweetened apple juice. The spices more than compensate for the additional sugar.
You may ask why would I make this in the Instant Pot if it takes over 30 minutes longer? The answer is, less liquid tends to evaporate using the lockable lid, and I don’t have to watch the stove to see if the heat needs to be adjusted. I can also plug the IP into the room downstairs where I am hosting the party rather than leaving it on the stovetop in the kitchen.
Also note that for the Instant Pot, the slow cooker function is being used, not the pressure cooking function. If you don’t have an Instant Pot, it works well in a standard slow cooker too.
Hot mulled apple ciderAll ready to slow cook. Lid shown for servingHot mulled apple cider
I’ve only recently started using my Instant Pot to boil eggs. I thought stovetop was less hassle until I discovered that every egg I made in the IP peels perfectly. That is pure gold.
Before reading any further, this only works with the Duo IPs as the Lux models only have a high pressure setting. One reason to get the Duo!
Here is my unscientific experiment. The pros, Amy+Jacky have rigorously tested their method here. Their definition of a medium boiled egg is 9 minutes on low pressure. Mine is 4 minutes on low. Perhaps that is the difference being at altitude makes? I live at about 3,500 ft above sea level.
Hard boiled eggs
Pour one cup of water into the pot. Place eggs on rack that came with the pot, or use a steamer basket. 5 minutes on high then vent. Rinse with cold water so I could handle them and voila! Perfect eggs.
Medium boiled eggs
Pour one cup of water into the pot. Place eggs on rack that came with the pot, or use a steamer basket. 4 minutes on low then vent. Dump into a bowl filled with cold water and wait about a minute. Dump the water and cover with cold water for about 5 minutes. Do a third cycle if the water is still warm.
Tried 1 minute on low. White done but yolk is very runny.
Tried 2 minutes on low. Edge of yolk is medium but middle is still very runny. (nice soft boiled egg)
Tried 3 minutes on low. Edge of yolk is medium but middle is a little runny.
Tried 4 minutes on low. Edge of yolk is medium and middle is just set. Perfect!
For fun, tried 8 minutes on low. Still hard boiled but on the softer side.
Ah, the memories. I love nothing better than a classic salted caramel cookie. No wait. Even better is a black sea salted caramel cookie. I have evidence that I baked these as early as 2011. Over the years, I’ve evolved the recipe slightly from the original which no longer seems to exist on the web.
Here are some pro tips.
If you really like these, buy the caramels in the 2 kg bags. Safeway has them around Halloween. I apolgize for the photo. Half the bag has mysteriously disappeared.
You can also get them in smaller bags at London Drugs. I’ve also seen them at Dollar Tree.
I got my black sea salt directly from Maui. It is definitely worth the trip if you can go. If not, Silk Road Spice Merchant carries it in town. You don’t have to use black sea salt. But you should agree, it looks much better.
Plan on baking some extra. There will inevitably be some exploding caramels. Who can’t use some extra cookies?
These are going to make you a hit with all your friends. Don’t ask me how I know…
They freeze really well. Remember to separate the layers with wax paper.
