Food Recipes Microwave Mulled Wine There's a nip in the air and decorative gourds abound. It must be time for warming, festive beverages. By Heath Goldman Heath Goldman Heath is a trained chef, recipe developer, and writer. The friend everyone calls when they have an emergency cooking question, Heath has created content for women's lifestyle and food publications for over 10 years. She specializes in instructional cooking articles, features stories, and low-maintenance recipes with big flavor. Highlights: * More than a decade of experience writing and editing food articles and developing recipes * Contributor to national brands like Real Simple, Southern Living, Food and Wine, Food Network, and PureWow * Extensive cooking experience including: line cook at L'ecole Restaurant in New York, stage at Le Bernardin in New York, pastry chef at Williams College Bakery in Massachusetts, caterer for tens of private events * Graduate of the French Culinary Institute (now known as Institute Of Culinary Education), a professional culinary arts program that consists of 650 instructional hours Real Simple's Editorial Guidelines Updated on September 21, 2022 Print Share Share Tweet Pin Email Photo: Grace Elkus Hands On Time: 5 mins Total Time: 20 mins Yield: 4 1/2 cups This mulled wine recipe uses your microwave, so you don't have to babysit a simmering pot of wine for 20 minutes, and it's a great way to put a cheaper bottle of wine to work. Don't skip the brandy: it adds a boozy edge to the mix. The resulting spicy-sweet concoction is so tasty and easy to make, you'll fly through that bottle of brandy in no time. One of the best parts about this recipe is that it gets tastier the longer the spices sit in it, so you can make the whole thing ahead of time, and then just strain and reheat individual servings when the mood strikes. Ingredients 1 750-ml bottle red wine, such as pinot noir or cabernet ½ cup honey 1 large orange, plus wedges or twists for serving 4 star anise 2 teaspoons allspice berries 2 teaspoons whole cloves 2 teaspoons whole peppercorns 2 cinnamon sticks, plus more for serving ½ cup brandy Directions Whisk wine and honey in a large microwave-safe bowl or glass measuring cup. Using a Y-shaped peeler, remove 1-inch strips of zest from the orange and add them to the wine mixture. Halve the orange and squeeze its juice into the bowl, and then add star anise, allspice, cloves, peppercorns, and cinnamon sticks. Microwave on high until hot but not boiling, 2½ to 3 minutes. Set aside to steep for 15 minutes. Stir in brandy, strain into mugs, and top with a cinnamon stick and orange wedge or twist. Reheat individual mugs on high until hot, 30 seconds (or as needed). Print