5 Yule Simmer Pots: Recipes to Make Your Home Smell Like Winter

 

The season of scented candles, freshly cut trees, warm cookies, and chestnuts roasting on an open fire has begun! While crushed candy cane and vanilla bean frosting scents might sound scrumptious and inviting, nothing beats the scents of ingredients like cinnamon sticks, apple peels, orange rinds, cloves, anise, vanilla, and nutmeg boiling together in your kitchen pot and having that aroma spread and fill your household.

 

How to Create a Simmer Pot:

Fill a small saucepan with water and bring to a boil. Add the ingredients from your favorite recipe, continue to boil for a few minutes, then turn the heat down to simmer. Add water as needed, usually every 30 minutes or so.

You can also use a Crock-Pot or other slow cooker to create a simmer pot: Fill the pot most of the way with water, add your ingredients, put on the lid, then turn the slow cooker to high. When there’s steam rolling off the lid, take the lid off and set the slow cooker to a low or simmer setting. Add water as needed to keep it at least halfway full.

These recipes below can be remixed to your taste or your pantry. It’s ok to leave ingredients out, go heavy-handed with the scents you like, or substitute things in the recipe for other flavors you like better (or to suit what you have on hand).

 

My Favorite Yule Simmer Pot:

• • 4 cup Water

• • 2 Oranges Sliced

• • 1 cup Cranberries

• • 1 Medium Apple Sliced

• • 2 Cinnamon Sticks

• • 1 tsp Ground Cloves

• • Optional: star anise apples, pears, pine needles, vanilla, ginger and more

 

Cinnamon Apple Simmer Pot:

• • Cinnamon sticks

• • Apple peels

• • Orange rinds

• • Whole cloves

 

Lemon and Orange Simmer Pot:

• • Peel from 1 lemon (or lemon slices)

• • Peel from 1 orange (or orange slices)

• • 2 bay leaves

• • 3 cinnamon sticks

• • 2 Tablespoons whole cloves

 

Lavender Simmer Pot:

• • 1 cup dried lavender (or lavender essential oil)

• • 1 tsp anise

• • 1 Tablespoon nutmeg

• • 1 Tablespoon whole cloves

• • 1 cinnamon stick

 

Colorful Cranberry Simmer Pot:

• • Orange slices

• • Lemon slices

• • Cinnamon sticks

• • Dash of nutmeg

• • 1 tsp cloves

• • Handful of cranberries

 

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About the Author:

Amara a practicing Phoenician Witch, is a content writer, vocal coach, opera singer, and killer storyteller with a B.A in Musimedialogy, a Master’s in Vocal Studies and the ability to communicate in three languages (English, French, Arabic) as a Native and a tad of Italian.

Born in Beirut-Lebanon to a monotheistic family, and growing up between the Middle-East and Europe, she always felt a strong and deep connection to her ancestry: the Phoenicians, also known as the Canaanites. Although her given birth name is Christine Fakhoury, she adopted the name Amara Willow at the age of twelve and fully devoted herself in the Craft and her spiritual practices.

Some fun facts about her: she begins her mornings by opening an Oracle or Tarot card, she and her mum must have their 4 PM Arabic coffee together while gossiping then off-course reading their cups together, she is addicted to Charles Dickens, intense impressionism art, Disney, Al Bowlly, the 1920’s and bloody Marys.

Instagram: Christine Fakhoury (@christine.fakhoury) • Instagram photos and videos

Facebook Page: Oh My Witch | Facebook