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Giada De Laurentiis just shared her big batch apple cider sangria recipe, and we’re making it ASAP
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Giada De Laurentiis just shared her big batch apple cider sangria recipe, and we’re making it ASAP

This set-it-and-forget-it cocktail is undeniably easy, and fans say it’s “always a hit around the holidays.”

Laurentiis: Kevin Winter/Getty Images. Recipe: Eat well. Laurentiis: Kevin Winter/Getty Images. Recipe: Eat well.

Laurentiis: Kevin Winter/Getty Images. Recipe: Eat well.

For cooks and hosts, the week leading up to Thanksgiving can be a roller coaster ride: fun on some days and a little terrifying on others. There are turkeys to defrost, groceries to pick up and old family recipes to find, not forgetting to tidy the house before your guests arrive. It makes sense that some parts of the meal start to fall through the cracks.

So if you forgot to make a fun cocktail to sip while waiting for dinner, fear not, Giada De Laurentiis is here to help.

Related: Giada De Laurentiis Just Shared Her Thanksgiving Menu, and It Includes Simple Vegetarian Sides

The cookbook author and television host recently shared one of his classic holiday accommodation recipes, a Apple Cider Sangria who first appeared on his Food Network show Giada’s Vacation Handbook. And since sangria is a hands-off, set-it-and-forget-it cocktail that won’t take up much of your time, the hardest part about making this recipe will be finding room in your fridge for the pitcher.

All you’ll need is apple cider, orange liqueur, pinot grigio, club soda, raspberries, an apple, an orange, and a few cinnamon sticks. In a pitcher or bowl, if you want to serve it as a punch, mix a few cups of apple cider, about ½ cup of orange liqueur, a bottle of pinot grigio and club soda. Mix everything, then add your fruit to the liquid. Giada opts for a cubed apple, orange wedges and a big handful of raspberries. Insert a few cinnamon sticks and refrigerate the sangria for at least four hours, but you can also make it up to two days in advance.

Related: Alex Guarnaschelli Just Shared His Quick 3-Ingredient Thanksgiving Appetizer, and It’s Almost Too Easy

What we love about this simple sangria is how adaptable it is. You can easily reduce the orange liqueur to reduce the alcohol content or change the fruit assortment to suit your tastes. If you want to give the drink an even more festive fall flavor, add cranberries to your fruit lineup. You can add some pretty pear slices to complete your drink.

The main change you might want to make is to multiply the recipe to satisfy a thirsty crowd. “I always have to double the recipe because it’s a hit around the holidays,” one fan wrote in the comments on the recipe. This doesn’t shock us at all.

As long as you give the flavors time to mix and meld in the fridge, you’re bound to have a crowd-pleasing drink. And if your guest list includes a mix of drinkers and sober people, you can always use your spare cider and soda to make a batch of our three ingredients. Sparkling Cranberry Cider Mocktail.

Related: Alton Brown Just Shared His Thanksgiving Shots, and They Might Shock You

No matter how your Thanksgiving menu is put together, you’re bound to have a happy holiday as long as you share it with family and friends, and maybe a few of them. our favorite recipes.