First, there were Cider Beetles. Then there were Mulling Minnows. And now I give you: Cider Stars! (Mostly because I am not artistic enough to accomplish the other two, so I had to simplify it for my little pea-brain. ) The basic idea is a hulled dried orange filled with brown sugar and spices, which is then simmered in apple cider. You can create whatever creature (or object in space) that you desire by arranging the spices to your preference.

Here’s the basic recipe:

Cider Beetles/Minnows/Stars/??

For each orange, you will need
1/3-1/2 cup brown sugar
4″ cinnamon stick, cut into pieces that will fit in the orange
2 whole nutmegs
16 whole cloves
8 allspice berries

Cut the orange in half and use a grapefruit spoon to remove the flesh completely. Fill the remaining cavity with a ball of aluminum foil. Place on a wire rack on a cookie sheet and dry in the oven at 250F for about 2 hours. When cool, pack brown sugar tightly into each half, mounding a little on the top. Press in the spices in whatever pattern you choose.

Some tips…

Here’s what you want the hull of the orange to look like once you’ve removed the fruit:

There should be as little as possible fruit remaining, because it will hinder the drying process. A grapefruit spoon is very useful for this purpose, and don’t be afraid to remove some of the pith. DO be careful, though, not to pierce through the skin of the orange.

Multiply this recipe to make as many Cider Stars as you need. I used 8 oranges so I ended up with 16 Cider Stars.

Once your oranges are good and dried, collect all your supplies and have them handy so you can fill them as quickly as possible.

For storage and to give as gifts, wrap a piece of plastic wrap tightly around the face of the orange, pulling around to the bottom and folding it in underneath. I printed out mailing labels with the ingredients and instructions and taped them on the underside of the “Cider Star”.

To enjoy the Cider Star, simply simmer with 1.5 quarts of apple cider for about 10-15 minutes or to taste.

To make the star design, cut a 2″ cinnamon stick in half and place the halves in the bottom of the orange. Pack the brown sugar on top of that, and then push the nutmeg down in the center. The nutmeg should be half submerged in the brown sugar. Then place the cloves around the nutmeg, with the head facing out (or with the head facing in, or alternating them - whatever you like!). Insert the allspice berries between the cloves.

QUICK? Not exactly. Hulling the oranges took a while, as did drying them, although the filling process went very quickly.

EASY? Welllll, it is rather labor-intensive with the hulling and the filling, so in that sense, no, I wouldn’t describe it as easy. There aren’t any special techniques or expensive equipment, though, so even a novice in the kitchen could handle it. I think children would have fun helping to fill the dried orange hulls.

CHEAP? Yes, if you get the oranges on sale. This is actually a good time of year for citrus (although clementines are my personal favorite, very dear to my heart! I prefer oranges dried or juiced!).

HEALTHY? Except for the brown sugar, YES! I actually don’t normally put sugar in my spiced cider, but what else would fill the orange? And the minimal amount of sugar in the orange will be spread between multiple servings, so it’s not that extravagant.

Many thanks to Robin Sue of Big Red Kitchen and Katie of Chaos in the Kitchen for this great idea!