Description
This Gingerbread Christmas Simmer Pot recipe fills your home with the warm, festive aroma of ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, juniper berries, and vanilla. Perfect for creating a cozy holiday atmosphere, this simmer pot uses natural spices and sweet notes to evoke the scent of gingerbread cookies without baking. It’s an easy, quick way to add a heartwarming fragrance to your space using simple ingredients on your stovetop.
Ingredients
Scale
Simmer Pot Ingredients
- 75 grams fresh ginger, sliced into 1/4-inch pieces (about a 3-inch piece fresh ginger)
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 2 whole nutmeg
- 15 whole cloves
- 1 tablespoon whole juniper berries
- 30 grams dark brown sugar (2 tablespoons, packed)
- 1 vanilla pod, split, or 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
Garnish
- Gingerbread cookies, to garnish
Instructions
- Prepare the Pot: Fill a large saucepan or stock pot with water, leaving a few inches of space at the top to allow for your ingredients and to prevent overflow during simmering.
- Add Ingredients: Add the sliced fresh ginger, cinnamon sticks, whole nutmeg, cloves, juniper berries, dark brown sugar, and vanilla pod or vanilla bean paste into the pot.
- Simmer the Mixture: Place the pot on the stovetop and bring the water and ingredients to a gentle simmer over medium heat. Once simmering, reduce to low heat to maintain a gentle simmer.
- Maintain the Simmer Pot: Let the mixture simmer for as long as desired to fill your space with the festive aroma. Check occasionally and add more water as needed to keep the ingredients submerged and prevent burning.
- Garnish and Serve: While the simmer pot is aromatic, serve gingerbread cookies alongside for guests to enjoy while basking in the cozy holiday scent.
Notes
- Adjust the amount of water in the pot as needed to avoid evaporation during extended simmering.
- Using fresh ginger sliced thinly helps release more flavor and aroma into the simmer pot.
- Avoid boiling aggressively; a gentle simmer preserves the subtle scents and prevents burning the sugar.
- You can reuse the spices for a second simmer by adding fresh water and brown sugar.
- The vanilla pod can be substituted with vanilla bean paste if unavailable.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 simmer pot
- Calories: 80
- Sugar: 15g
- Sodium: 5mg
- Fat: 0.2g
- Saturated Fat: 0g
- Unsaturated Fat: 0.1g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 20g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 0.5g
- Cholesterol: 0mg
