Cloverleaf

I love the smell of holiday candles – in the store. Somehow when I get them home and finally get around to lighting them, they’re not quite the same. If I really want my house to smell like Christmas, I bake something. Or I load my slow cooker with something like this:

  

Holiday Potpourri

  

1 cup fresh cranberries

3 tangerines, halved

3 whole cinnamon sticks

Star anise (This has a strong black licorice smell. If you don’t like that, skip it.)

1 teaspoon whole cloves

1-inch piece fresh ginger

1 tablespoon vanilla bean

1 small branch fresh pine (You can grab a twig from a Christmas tree lot.) 

1 cup apple cider

Place all ingredients in slow cooker; add enough water to fill 2/3 of the way up. Cover and cook on low four to eight hours. You can let it cool at night and reheat in the morning, if you don’t let the water level get too low.