Cranberry Ginger Cider Cocktail

This simple cider cocktail combines apple cider, ginger beer, and fresh cranberries for a ridiculously easy happy hour!

This week, things started to click.

I wasn’t a Tasmanian devil trying to get myself and Kai out the door in the morning. Things got accomplished at work. Things got accomplished at home. Kai didn’t cry when I dropped him off at daycare for the first time ever.

We are finally settling some sort of routine now that I’m back at work/school after a whole year of maternity leave. What a relief!

Given that it’s Friday and I’m starting to feel like maybe I can do this whole mom/PhD/food blog thing, I’m in the mood to put my feet up and have a cold and bubbly cider cocktail.

The truth is that this cider cocktail barely counts as a recipe. It takes 2 minutes flat to make, if that.

Translation: something that real people in the real world might make. I do love fancy margaritas, but things that involve homemade simple syrups send me running on Friday afternoons. Sometimes even the thought of digging out the blender {and cleaning it after} is also enough to send me running.

So now you guys know how I feel about being in the kitchen on a Friday. Gimme easy. Sunday is the day for complicated in my house 😉

 So. This cider cocktail.

Easy, yes. Delicious? Yesss. It is cool and bubbly, yet spicy {gingery} and comforting somehow. It just tastes like fall.

Hard {sparkling} apple cider with a spicy edge from ginger beer…you can’t go wrong with apple and ginger flavors! I used non-alcoholic ginger beer, but you could also use alcoholic.

Fresh cranberries are muddled in the bottom of the glass before adding the cider and ginger beer. Really, they don’t lend much cranberry flavor to the drink, and feel free to add more if you want a stronger cranberry taste.

I also added a pinch of cinnamon and a squeeze of lemon to the cocktail, but it was also good without.

 TGIF!! Have a great week-end!

MORE COCKTAILS!!

• How about a Spiced Bailey’s Ice Cream Float?
• or a BIG batch of Apple, Pear & Pomegranate Sangria!
• or a SUPER simple Pear & Ginger Champagne Cocktail?

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

CRANBERRY GINGER CIDER COCKTAIL

Course: Drinks

Cuisine: American

Servings: 1

Hard apple cider is spiced up with ginger beer and fresh cranberries in this simple and easy fall cocktail.

Prep Time2 mins

Total Time2 mins

Ingredients

• 5 fresh cranberries
• 4 ice cubes
• 1/2 cup hard {sparkling} apple cider
• 1/4 cup ginger beer {alcoholic or non-alcoholic}
• squeeze of lemon {1/2 tsp or so}
• pinch of ground cinnamon

Instructions

• Muddle cranberries in the bottom of glass.
• Fill with ice.
• Add remaining drink ingredients.
• Serve immediately

Notes

I recommend a not-too-sweet cider such as Strongbow

Adapted from Martha Stewart