Want something easy for New Year’s Eve? This slow cooker mulled wine is perfect! Toss the ingredients into your crock pot and you’re done!

Slow Cooker Mulled Wine

The best thing about this is, obviously, how easy it is. Though it also tastes great. Zach thought it was like a fruit snack. Served nice and warm, it’s perfect to sip on a cold night.

If you want a little more kick, you can add a shot of brandy to your glass. Though I actually added a little creme de cocoa, which I mentioned with the chocolate peppermint martini, is like a chocolate brandy (if you get the dark one, not the clear one).

The mulled wine by itself is really nice, but this adds just a little something to it. I can’t quite place my finger on what.

This slow cooker mulled wine was made using Cabernet, which is fine. If I did it again, I’d use a sweet wine. That’s just personal preference, though. You can use whatever red wine you want.

One other change I would make would be to squeeze the juice out of the orange (into the crock pot, of course) before tossing what’s left of the slice into the liquid.

Otherwise, I’m really happy with how this turned out. If you’re like me, you’ll probably receive some red wine for Christmas that you might not particularly care for (happens every year–nothing wrong with the wine, I just like mine very sweet). This is a GREAT way to make use of it.

Also, fun fact: I had never tasted a star anise until I made this. My verdict is that it’s basically like licorice. I hate the taste of licorice, but I think it added an interesting flavor. Feel free to skip it if you’re not interested in that bit, though.

Happy New Year!

(Still trying to concentrate on Christmas before even thinking about the New Year? I have a great breakfast for you over at my blog–check out these homemade quick cinnamon rolls with caramel frosting!)