We have a more than a few reasons to celebrate in the next few weeks! The weeks surrounding the holidays have a way of filling up with holiday parties, concerts, and family traditions. My birthday also happens to fall during this busy season, and this year I am turning 30! With so much to celebrate between now and January 1st, I asked my hobbyist bartender husband to help me develop a few special “mocktail” recipes to share with my fellow pregnant friends and all of you.

Since holiday parties and New Year’s Eve celebrations often go hand-in-hand with alcoholic beverages, it can be hard when you’re feeling like you’re “missing out” when you are abstaining from alcohol for one reason or another. The festive mocktail recipes I’m sharing this week, including this Apple Cider Cranberry Punch, incorporate the seasonal flavors we love into a balanced beverage that isn’t overly sweet. Don’t forget to check out the other two drinks that we created, a Holiday Spice Fermented Fizz and a Blueberry Rosemary “Old Fashioned”.

Apple Cider Cranberry Punch Mocktail Recipe

Ingredients:

1 oz Apple Cinnamon Cranberry Syrup (recipe below)
2.5 oz Cranberry-Raspberry Spindrift sparkling water
1/2 oz of Lemon Juice
Orange peel and cranberries for garnish

Directions:

Add all ingredients to a mixing glass, add ice, stir until well chilled.
Strain and serve in a chilled coupe glass.
Garnish with fresh cranberries and an orange peel.

Ingredients for Apple Cinnamon Cranberry Syrup (makes roughly 2 cups):

4 cups unfiltered apple cider
3 cinnamon sticks
1/4 cup of fresh cranberries
3 orange peels (roughly 1 inch wide and the length of the orange)

Directions for Simple Syrup:

For syrup, mix apple cider, cinnamon sticks, cranberries and orange peels in a sauce pan over medium heat until reduced to 2 cups.
Let cool and transfer to a glass jar for storing (keeps in the fridge for a few weeks).
When adding syrup to a mocktail, be sure to strain out orange peel, cranberries and cinnamon sticks.