If you’re still making the holiday rounds in this pause between Christmas and New Years, and need a last minute gift, this spiced cider recipe has you covered! The idea was the bonus recipe from Travis’s December Raddish Kids crate. The mulling spices make a fantastic hostess gift, especially if you’re attending a New Year’s Eve party.

First, let’s just admire the way Raddish presents recipes to kids. Clear step-by-step pictures mean even non-readers can tell what happens in each stage of the recipe!

Travis and I talked a lot about the ingredients as we worked. To start, he helped me use a peeler to peel long strips from 2 oranges.

He was fascinated to see the white pith underneath, and to learn that the juicy orange fruit was buried even below that.

Place the orange peel on a baking sheet and bake at 200 degrees F for 30 minutes, until dried and slightly curled.

Next, we smelled whole cinnamon sticks. Fun fact: tell your child these are the bark of a tree, unlike other spices. Place the sticks from 1 small jar into a zip-top bag and crush with a rolling pin.

In a bowl, combine the orange peel, cinnamon, 3 tablespoons whole allspice, 3 tablespoons whole cloves, and 1/2 cup dried cranberries.

You can make the recipe right away, of course, instead of gifting it! For every cup of apple cider, add 1 tablespoon mulling spices, and simmer for 10 minutes. If you use the whole pack of mulling spice, that’s a 1/2 gallon of cider.

Our Raddish Kit helpfully included gift tags, to attach to mason jars.

Come serving time, an extra cinnamon stick makes a perfect garnish.