Witches Brew
Witches Brew is an absolutely delicious Fall punch made with healthier ingredients that is perfect for little witches and goblins. Very easy to make with tips for making this recipe into an adult beverage.
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Yesterday I spent the day with my Aunt Linda (the oldest of my Mom’s sisters) and it was wonderful seeing and spending time with her.
We shared a delicious meal, walked down memory lane and watched old family movies that she and my Aunt Nancy are currently restoring.
It did my heart good all the way around but what really got to me was seeing the videos of my mom. Man oh man, did the tears start flowing when I saw her.
What made the day even more special was making my mom’s Witches Brew recipe. It was so precious to see old footage of my beautiful mother as a young adult in the 1960’s and having her share with me that was the time frame when my mom first starting making this recipe for her and her sisters.
Seeing the videos and making a recipe from my mother’s youth made me feel highly bonded to her. I am so very thankful for that. Also, my mom had it going on with the recipes. This Witches Brew is out of this world delicious just like her Broonie, Swedish Apple Cake, Sweet and Sour Chicken and Classic Meatloaf.
What is Witches Brew?
Witches Brew Recipe is a homemade fruit punch spiced with the flavors of Fall. This recipe has better for you ingredients than most of the green and purple punch recipes available for Halloween. Also, it works beautifully as a Thanksgiving beverage.
Changes To The Original Recipe
This recipe is almost identical to my mom’s original handwritten version (see 3 photos above). However, I made a few slight variations. Instead of regular oranges, I used blood oranges. If available, I highly recommend using blood oranges. The reason, blood oranges are sweet and have an almost fruit punch like taste. If unavailable, just use regular juice oranges instead.
Additionally, I added the sugar to the boiling water, making a simple syrup that I then brewed the tea bags in. I did this to ensure that the sugar melted completely into the punch.
Witches Brew Ingredients
Outside of water, the main ingredients you will need for this Halloween punch are:
- A good quality tea– I usually lean towards Black tea if making this punch predominately for adults. However, this flavor of tea is great for the Fall. Also, a basic chamomile or peppermint tea may be used for little ones.
- Ground Cinnamon– This is seriously the most amazing cinnamon.
- Ground Nutmeg
- Granulated Sugar
- Cranberry Juice Cocktail– Cranberry Juice Cocktail is a mix of predominately cranberry juice with other fruit juices like apple, grape and cherry. Please note that pure cranberry juice may be used but will produce a punch that has a bit of a kick to it.
- Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice and Lemon Juice
- Orange slices, Whole Cloves and Cinnamon Sticks as garnish.
How To Make An Adult Witches Brew
To make this Fall Punch into an adult beverage (aka cocktail) add in 1 cup of your favorite fruit liqueur or combination of liqueurs. Grapefruit, cherry, orange or cinnamon would be delicious in this punch, or just simply add limoncello.
If you enjoyed this Fall Punch please let me know by leaving a comment and review below. Doing so helps to encourage others to make the recipe also. Thank you!
Witches Brew
Ingredients
- 2 cups boiling water
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 5 tea bags *use tea of choice, see above in post for options
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 2 1/2 cups water
- 2 pints cranberry juice cocktail *4 cups
- 1/2 cup fresh squeezed blood orange juice *or reg orange juice
- 2/3 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
- garnish with orange slices, whole cloves and cinnamon sticks *optional
Instructions
- Place sugar and two cups of water into a sauce pan. Bring to a boil, stirring occassionally and cook until sugar dissolves. Take off heat and add tea bags. Steep for 5 mins.
- Remove tea bags and stir in cinnamon and nutmeg.
- Into a large pitcher add remaining water, brewed tea and juices. Chill in refrigerator until cold, about 2 hours.
- Once chilled, garnish with orange slices or orange slices that are stuck with cloves. Serve over ice.
Notes
- Whole cloves can be a choking concern for children. Please omit if serving young children. Also, the way my mom originally used the whole cloves was by poking them into the oranges slices. The orange slices would then garnish the punch bowl.Â
