Poisoned Apple Cocktail

Get into the Halloween spirit with this glittery cider cocktail, made from your favorite fall flavors and just a little bit of magic {aka edible glitter} mixed in for fun!

One of my favorite things in the fall is checking out all the spooky cocktails Tieghan at Half-Baked Harvest comes up with. She creates some truly delicious and creative drinks, and her staging and props for the photography are beyond fun!

So I decided to try my hand at my own spooky cocktail brew for the holiday. Since we’re loving all things apple and apple cider around here, it seemed only natural to mix apple cider with a little bit of this and that. And that included a little bit of edible gold luster dust that I bought for a cake some time back and ended up not using! It adds a glittery swirl to the drink that makes it just perfect for a little Halloween celebration.

Since in my house, you’re a lot more likely to find Erlenmeyer flasks than cauldrons, I decided to give my take on this cocktail a twist that was more mad scientist than witch’s brew. But either way you mix it, you’re entitled to serve it up to your guests with a mad cackle, right?

Just look at that! How much fun are those glittery swirls?

Well, they’re fun, but as good scientists, we have to check the source. How much care has been taken to source edible materials here? You have to make sure it’s food grade, or else who knows what you’re putting in your food? I typically pick mine up at Michael’s along with other cake decorating things {because one day I will learn how to decorate a cake}. You can pick it up in a lot of different colors, but the one you see here is Goldenrod.

And, of course, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to do a little experimentation. Adding a couple drops of food coloring to cold water is a great way to demonstrate diffusion – the mixing of molecules due to random motion – and get some really fun photos while you’re at it!

Diffusion happens slower in cold water than in warm, and the food coloring molecules try to sink to the bottom while they’re trying to spread out due to their higher density than the water, so you can see diffusion happening a lot more clearly than you could if the water were warmer.

One of the reasons I love being a scientist – even if I’m a data scientist and not a physical scientist – is that science teaches you to observe the world, to see patterns, to understand the mechanics of the universe, and in seeing how all of that works, allows you to believe in magic – because it’s pretty miraculous that the world chooses to work the way it does!

I am so going to go full steampunk for Halloween some year. There’s nothing that grabs my imagination more than magic that’s driven by science. On that note, if I have some fellow steampunk fans out there and you don’t read Girl Genius, time to get started.

Because in this world, you can envision the Evil Queen in her lab, mixing concoctions and potions and determined to not put a spell on Snow White, but to elicit a specific chemical reaction that would create the equivalent of a medically induced coma…

Well, this cocktail won’t put you to sleep, but a great taste and a little bit of luster dust will make you feel like there is definitely a little bit of mad science afoot!

[lt_recipe name=”Poisoned Apple Cocktail” summary=”Get into the Halloween spirit with this glittery cider cocktail, made from your favorite fall flavors and just a little bit of magic {aka edible glitter} mixed in for fun!” servings=”1″ total_time=”10M” print=”yes” image=”https://homefrontcooking.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Poisoned-Apple-Cocktail-1540-1024×683.jpg” ingredients=”4 oz apple cider;2 oz pomegranate juice;2 oz spiced rum;3/4 oz grenadine;1/4 tsp or less edible luster dust {gold};Apple slice for garnish” ]Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker over ice. Shake about 30 seconds, and then strain into a snifter, goblet, or tulip beer glass – or glass of your preference.;Add a cocktail stirrer to swirl the luster dust so it doesn’t just settle at the bottom.;Garnish with a thin apple slice.[/lt_recipe]

We’re staying homebodies this Halloween due to COVID, but since my in-laws are driving up, we planned a little bit of fun at the house. We’re dressing our little dude up and giving him his little candy bucket, and he gets to go find all of us hidden throughout the house and trick-or-treat that way. Trick-or-treat meets hide-and-seek. He’s been practicing. And if you’ve never heard a two-year-old say “trick-or-treat,” beware – your heart might just explode.

If you celebrate it, Happy Halloween! Otherwise, wishing you a great weekend!

Happy Halloween!