Make Trader Joe’s Spiced Apple Cider in Your Instant Pot

One of the biggest (perhaps still unanswered) questions of 2018 is whether or not the Instant Pot is simply the trendy appliance of the moment or actually worth buying. What we do know is that the Instant Pot cuts down on cooking time and can handle almost any meal, from a whole chicken to rice pudding to pasta. It’s a near-magical multitasker, and if you thought that it could only cook food then you were mistaken: The Instant Pot can also whip up a batch of spiced cider — perfect for the holiday season.

According to the Instagram account TraderJoesObsessed, the Instant Pot is the perfect vessel for spiced cider, and the entire recipe takes just five minutes. I’m sure that got your creative juices flowing: A holiday party or post-Christmas dinner hangout would surely benefit from a batch of this warming drink.

All you need to make this recipe is cinnamon, half an apple, and a bottle of your favorite (cold) cider. TraderJoesObsessed obviously uses Trader Joe’s spiced cider, and adds a dash of bourbon or rum to create a boozy version. You can easily leave the alcohol out, though, if you’re looking to make a more kid-friendly version. Set the Instant Pot to the setting “Manual 1,” and you’ve got a classic wintertime drink that’s even easier to make thanks to a nifty piece of technology.

By the way, you can also make wine in your Instant Pot. Yes, wine. It takes far longer than this simple cider — about ten days in total — but it is drinkable. The guy who came up with the recipe, a recipe developer named David Murphy, uses Welch’s grape juice as the base and says that the wine turns out “palatable” with hints of chocolate and cherry. If you’re feeling like a mad scientist than yes, by all means, make your own wine. But maybe master this cider recipe first before you try creating entirely new drinks in the pressure cooker.