Apple Cider Reduction Sauce

Want to appear super impressive with little work? Top your oatmeal with THIS:

I always thought that any recipe with the word "reduction" automatically sounds gourmet and fancy. I've never actually made any sort of reduction before, so that's probably why I thought it was so complicated! As it turns out, this was one of the easiest (but time-consuming) things I've ever done.

I was fortunate enough to have a cider that was already mulled leftover from Christmas Eve. My mom used some sort of brilliant recipe that mixed apple cider with orange juice, cranapple juice, and mulling spices. It was absolutely delicious! You can just use plain apple cider, though. I've also included optional ingredients to help you "mull" your cider, if you please. :)

This sauce would go beautifully on top of Peanut Butter Cookie Baked Oatmeal, Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal, Green Apple and Walnut Oatmeal, French Toast Oatmeal, Zucchini-Nut Bread Oatmeal, Peanut Butter Oatmeal, or more! You could even drizzle it on top of muffins or pancakes! Pictured in this blog post is Peanut Butter Oatmeal with apples.

Apple Cider Reduction Sauce

Required Ingredients

1/2 cup apple cider

Optional Ingredients
1/4 tsp cinnamon
a dash of orange juice
tiny pinch each of nutmeg, cloves, and/or allspice

1. Bring to a boil in a small saucepan. Reduce heat to medium. You want it to be at a strong simmer.
2. Let simmer for around 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Wait for it to reduce to half its size. For me, it also turned a beautiful dark amber color.
4. Use quickly; if you let it sit, it will turn hard like a candy!

**You can also find hundreds of other oatmeal recipes (as well as tons of other meatless recipes) on my Pinterest account!  Thanks!