It's fair to say I've never been as ruined by a tasting as this one: with the twin soothers of spice and booze coming up in many of your fragrant offerings, by midday, nothing could part me from my duvet. Dairy, too, was a frequent ingredient – and quite right too, as few drinks really are more soothing than a cup of warm milk – though I particularly enjoyed the twist veggischmooze put on it by using almond milk instead.
But in the end it was a dairy-free, booze-free one that was my winner: a simple mulled apple juice that, with the addition of a few camomile flowers, is just what I want for a more gentle slip-slide into the land of nod.
The winning recipe: Mulled apple juice with camomile
Mulled apple juice is basically all the spices of mulled wine added to apple juice instead. It keeps nicely in the fridge and then at bedtime you simply stick it in the microwave.
HilarySutcliffe via GuardianWitness
Serves 1
300ml fresh apple juice
1 bay leaf
2 cloves
Half a cinnamon stick/good pinch of ground
A good slice of fresh ginger
1 tsp freshly grated/a few pinches of ground nutmeg (to taste)
1 tsp camomile flowers/1 camomile teabag
1 Warm the apple juice over a low heat with the herbs and spices and a scraping of nutmeg for a few minutes until the ingredients infuse.
2 Drop in the camomile flowers (or a camomile teabag) and keep at a steeping temperature – no bubbles, just gentle steaming.
3 After 3-4 minutes, strain the liquid into a cup.
Mexican hot chocolate
Try this steaming, orangey hot chocolate with a dollop of lightly whipped cream and some grated Mexican chocolate (Mayordomo or Ibarra for example). Or if you have none of these handy, just mix dark chocolate with piloncillo (unrefined cane sugar) or dark brown sugar and cinnamon. For a bit of spice, you can even add chilli. And then stir it all up with a cinnamon stick.
TheJameskitchen via GuardianWitness
Serves 2
470ml milk
2-4 pieces of Mexican (if possible) dark chocolate, (eg (Mayordomo or Ibarra) or cacao, grated
Dark brown sugar, to taste
Ground cinnamon, to taste
A dash of Cointreau or Grand Marnier
To serve (optional)
Fresh cream, lightly whipped
A pinch of chilli powder
1 cinnamon stick
1 Heat the milk in a small saucepan, add the chocolate, sugar (to taste) and cinnamon. When piping hot pour into small glasses and add a dash of Cointreau to each.
2 Top with a dollop of lightly whipped cream, some more chocolate and chilli and stir with a stick of cinnamon if youlike.
Negus
Lord Byron described negus as "a wishy-washy compromise between wine and water". Probably he had a closer relationship with booze than I do, butclearly he didn't know what he was talking about. Nourishing, warming and wholesome, negus was just the thing to settle down for the night before the invention of central heating, with its lemon or Seville orange and spices, with port, sherry or brandy.
I am baffled by Mrs Beeton's recipe –it's a lot boozier than mine, and she suggests it would be suitable for a children's party!
MarmadukeScarlet via GuardianWitness
Makes 4
150ml port
Half a Seville orange or a few slices offreshlemon
250ml boiling water
About 2 tsp sugar, to taste
A shot of brandy (optional)
A few scrapings of nutmeg, for the top
1 Gently warm the port in a saucepan. Add the orange or lemon slices, together with the boiling water, sugar (to taste) and the brandy, if using.
2 Ensure the liquid is warmed through. Serve topped with grated nutmeg.
English chai
I should probably say straight up that I hate tea and always have done. But aged about 15, I was working in a local newsagents on a Saturday morning when the old Irish couple that ran it retired and sold out to a fantastic Gujarati family. They introduced me to chai – Indian spiced tea. At the time I thought it was horrid sweet stuff, with a funny taste and smell. But I came to love it and appreciate the subtle spicing – and years later it'sstill my bedtime drink ofchoice.
Jenny Barrett, Hartlepool
Serves 2
300ml milk
300ml water
5 black peppercorns
10 cardamom pods, lightly bashed
A pinch of fennel seeds
Half a cinnamon stick
A large thumbnail-size piece of fresh ginger, peeled and cut into 8 pieces
1 tsp soft brown sugar (or more to taste)
A small pinch of salt
2 tsp good leaf tea, or to taste
1 Put the milk and water in a saucepan.
2 Add the spices, salt and sugar, bring to the boil and the turn the heat right down. Simmer for 10 minutes.
3 Add the leaf tea to taste. Continue simmering for 5 minutes and bring to the boil again when ready to serve.
4 Strain with a tea strainer and serve (preferably in two old-fashioned teacups). You can adjust spices, sugar and salt to taste.
Spiced warm vanilla and cardamom soother
Insomniacs: this luscious drink combines warm dairy or almond milk with a hint of golden syrup, mixed spice and vanilla. It's the perfect night-time soother and banishes all the worries of the day in a gentle nightcap.
Sarah Nathan, Cardiff, via GuardianWitness; veggischmooze.blogspot.com
Serves 1
260ml milk or almond milk
1 cardamom pod, de-husked and ground toa powder
½ tsp mixed spice
½ tsp good vanilla extract
1 tsp golden syrup
1 Pour the milk or almond milk into amedium mug (almost to the top).
2 Whisk in the crushed cardamom, mixed spice, vanilla and syrup.
3 Place in the microwave and gradually heat on full power for 30 seconds at atime for about 2 minutes.
Warmed caramel milk
Warm, creamy caramel milk may be served as it is, or you can fortify it with some whiskey, brandy or even a splash of rum for a dreamy bedtime drink.
BettyBee via GuardianWitness
Serves 2
50g sugar
2 tbsp water
400ml milk, whole or skimmed
Whiskey, brandy or rum to taste (optional)
1 Put the sugar and water in a pan and stir to dissolve the sugar. Place the pan over a gentle heat, stirring all the time. Meanwhile in a separate pan, warm the milk gently.
2 When the sugar and water have turned into a golden caramel, stir in a small amount of the milk. Be careful as the mixture may spit. Continue stirring in the milk until fully combined.
3 Pour in a shot of whiskey/brandy/rum, if using, and serve.
Felicity Cloake will be back next week.
Send us your recipes!
For your chance to be crowned Guardian home cook of the year, send us your ideas for SLOW-COOKED dishes.
Recipes will appear on 22 FEBRUARY.
Email your recipe suggestions to recipes@theguardian.com or upload your recipes and images to theguardian.com/witness by noon on Monday 12 February.
Please include your name, address and phone number (conditions apply: see theguardian.com
