15 Recipes To Make With Apple Cider This Fall

For that big jug of apple cider you just bought.

A certain crispness in the air brings about craving for apple cider. If you've ever visited an apple orchard in the fall, sipping fresh apple cider is just as vital to the experience as picking the apples themselves.

There are three kinds of cider, which can make matters confusing if you're shopping for a recipe. Here's a quick guide.

• Fresh cider is the juice of fresh apples. Usually it's unfiltered and sometimes it's unpasteurized. It needs to be refrigerated.

• Hard cider is fermented into an alcoholic beverage. It's fizzy. You buy it in cans or bottles. Some are quite sweet, while others are pleasantly dry, almost Champagne-like.

• Processed cider is nothing but mass-produced apple juice. It's sold on shelves in bottles and keeps for months, if not years. Very occasionally it's carbonated (think Martinelli's Sparkling Cider).

Most of these recipes call for fresh cider. You'll find warming drinks, cozy bakes, and savory entrees. Cider season is fleeting, so get cooking! However, there's a workaround to fresh apple cider's short shelf life: it freezes very well, allowing you months of enjoyment.

Apple Cider Glazed Donut Holes

Apple cider goes into the glaze and dough of these sugary, craggy donut holes. You scoop the dough straight into the frying oil, so there's no rolling.

Get Recipe: Apple Cider Glazed Donut Holes

Roasted Root Vegetables With Cider Vinaigrette

Roast root vegetables while you simmer cider down for a warm vinaigrette. Toss the vegetables in the dressing and serve for a lovely symphony of fall flavors.

Get Recipe: Cider Vinaigrette Roasted Root Vegetables

Apple Cider Muffins

Not everyone can get to the orchard to sample the glories of just-fried cider donuts. And what home cook wants to mess with all the oil and spatters of deep-frying? Roll these easy, stir-together muffins in cinnamon sugar and you'll have an autumn ritual at home that's just as satisfying as the "authentic" counterpart.

Get Recipe: These Easy Muffins Taste Like Apple Cider Donuts

Apple Butter

This is a sweet and sour apple butter, but if you prefer something with a less sharp flavor profile, sub apple cider for the cider vinegar. This stuff only gets better and better as it ages.

Get Recipe: Apple Butter

Chicken Thighs With Cider and Sweet Potatoes

If you bought a big jug of cider only to discover your household is slow in drinking it, think beyond the glass and pour cider into your dinner. Here, seared chicken thighs and diced sweet potatoes are braised in cider for a sweet and tart fall supper.

Get Recipe: Apple Cider Chicken Thighs with Sweet Potatoes

Hot Mulled Cider

The aroma of mulled cider warmly welcomes guests before they even take one sip. Mulled cider makes any occasion feel more special, yet it is so simple to make. I like to let mine infuse a slow cooker, then serve it straight from the cooker, which keeps it warm.

Get Recipe: Hot Mulled Cider

Easy Apple Cake

Making this cake is a simple stir-together affair, but the flavor and mega-moist crumb are a festival of complexity. Diced fresh apples and applesauce go into the batter, while a glaze of reduced cider goes on top of the just-baked cake.

Get Recipe: Easy Apple Cake

Slow Cooker Cider Pulled Pork

This recipe is deeply personal to author Summer Miller, who makes it for the giant outdoor fall bash her family throws every year. The pork is perfect for making ahead and reheating—a rest makes it even more succulent—and it freezes beautifully.

Get Recipe: Slow Cooker Cider Pulled Pork

Apple Cider Hot Toddy

Cider, spices, and bourbon come together for this apple-fied take on the classic hot toddy. You can swap whiskey for the bourbon, or leave the booze out for a not-toddy.

Get Recipe: Apple Cider Hot Toddy

Pomegranate Mimosa With Hard Cider

Bubbly hard cider stands in for Champagne and pomegranate juice plays the orange juice role in this mimosa. You could use non-alcoholic sparking cider for an alcohol-free drink.

Get Recipe: Pomegranate Mimosa with Hard Cider

Cider Glazed Salmon

Cook salmon fillets in a skillet with a little cider. The cider reduces and creates the eponymous glaze. Serve with mashed rutabaga for a change of pace from mashed potatoes.

Get Recipe: Honey Apple Cider Glazed Salmon

Chai-Spiced Spiked Cider Punch

Tea punches are a festive and enlivening addition to celebrations. Did you know that party punches predate cocktails? This old-fashioned blend of brandy, cider, and lemon gets a modern twist from the addition of brewed chai.

Get Recipe: Boozy Chai-Spiced Apple Cider Punch

Chicken Normandy

France's Normandy region is known for apples, plus the brandy and hard cider made from them. A little cream takes the edge off the fresh apples and hard, dry cider that flavor this traditional dish. Hard cider might be hard to come by, so if you like, sub fresh cider and dry white wine.

Get Recipe: Chicken Normandy

Holiday Punch

Cranberry and orange juice plus cider (hard or fresh) meet cinnamon in this cheerful punch that'll fit right in at most any party.

Get Recipe: Holiday Punch

Sauerkraut With Bacon and Apples

Use two cups of apple cider as the cooking liquid for this bacon-laced sauerkraut. Serve it with pork chops or pork roast.

Get Recipe: Sauerkraut With Bacon and Apples

Read the original article on Simply Recipes.