Butterbeer is delicious, right? A very special treat. But for your everyday wizarding feast, pumpkin juice is most appropriate for the table. This was one of the beverages offered at the Harry Potter party I threw last year. Pumpkin juice is so incredible! I cannot recommend it enough. If you like pumpkin AT ALL, please give this a try. It’s sweet, a little spicy and very drinkable. Make a double (or triple!) batch, because you’ll need it! Just imagine yourself gathering in the Great Hall with Harry and friends and sitting down for a nice breakfast and looking over the owl post. 🙂
You’ll Need:
- 1 qt apple cider (spiced or regular)
- cinnamon stick
- 10 whole cloves
- small hunk of fresh ginger
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 15 oz pumpkin puree
- Cover the bottom of a saucepan in about 1 cup of cider with the heat on high.
- Add in the cinnamon stick, cloves and ginger and bring everything to a boil.
- Turn down the heat and allow the spice mix to simmer for 20 minutes or more. Warning, this will make your home smell INCREDIBLE.
- After taking the pan off the heat, add the sweet stuff (honey and brown sugar) and mix it in until dissolved.
- Set the mixture aside to cool or put in in the fridge until it’s room temperature or cooler.
- Carefully strain this into a pitcher and then add your remaining cider and pumpkin puree and stir.
- Chill and serve your pumpkin juice!
Note: It really is best to use apple cider and not apple juice for this recipe, but cider is often a seasonal item and can be difficult to track down in the summer. You certainly can substitute apple juice, it’ll just be a bit less flavorful. I suggest beefing up the spice quantity a bit, to taste.
I seriously want to be drinking this ALL the time. Let me know what you think of pumpkin juice if you try it!
